Fort McMurray wildfire makes for anxious wait for family in Nova Scotia

As thousands flee the large wildfire in Fort McMurray, Alta., family members back home in Nova Scotia are anxiously waiting to hear from relatives.

• Follow the latest developments from the Fort McMurray wildfire

The mayor of Port Hawkesbury, Billy Joe MacLean, is among many in the Strait area worried about family in Fort McMurray. His son works at Syncrude and has a home in the Timberlea neighbourhood.

"My wife, I think she was awake half the night," he says. "And I'm getting calls from other mothers in Port Hawkesbury wanting to know what I've heard because they know I have a son out there.

"You're laying in bed and you know there's a huge fire and your children are close by it's quite a worry."

'I'm pretty rattled'

He says there are at least a couple of dozen families in Port Hawkesbury with members in Fort McMurray, and a few hundred more in neighbouring counties.

His son, John MacLean, is currently safe at a Syncrude camp in Mildred Lake, about 70 kilometres northwest of Fort McMurray. John MacLean is with his wife and 18-year-old son, but says he is still waiting to hearing from his 20-year-old son, Tyler.

"I'm pretty rattled to tell you the truth," John MacLean says. "My oldest son didn't think he could make it here last night so he turned around and headed down to Edmonton. I was just messaging when you called trying to find out whether he had made it OK or not last night."

Fort McMurray wildfire off highway

8 years ago

Duration 0:31

This video was taken by Tammy Cadegan, who is in a car with her family on their way to Edmonton.

'One way in and one way out'

Tammy Cadegan, of Port Hawkesbury, and her husband Chris, from Glace Bay, are on the highway to Edmonton with an infant and a three-year-old. They left Fort McMurray Tuesday at 11 p.m. AT and were still only halfway to the Alberta capital by 12 p.m. AT on Wednesday.

"There's one way in and there's one way out. So once you realize that panic had set in and there was 70,000 people trying to flee the city and you weren't moving, that was pretty stressful," she says.

On a normal day, the drive between Fort McMurray and Edmonton is about a four and a half hours but this is not a normal day.

"It's bumper to bumper," Cadegan says. "Not moving. We sit and then we roll a car's length."

'Our home might burn but that's not the concern'

She says they have water, juice and granola bars in the car and a cell phone charger to keep in touch with family.

Cadegan, 33, is a teacher and her 37-year-old husband is a manager at Suncor. She says it's hard to believe they are in this situation.

"It's pretty intense. Even yesterday, when we were hearing reports that people were leaving Fort McMurray. I was like, 'It can't be that bad. It's fine.'"

She has a message for people back home:

"Ourhome might burn but that's not the concern at this point. Our safety was a concern and everybody is safe at this point so, not to worry and homes can be replaced."

'I'm at a loss for words'

Cheryl Day, originally from Dartmouth, was on the move to her sister-in-law's camp further south in Wandering Riverwhen CBC's Maritime Noon reached her Wednesday.

"I don't even know how to describe it, I'm at a loss for words," she said, describing the wall of smoke and fire she left behind.

"It's a town that won't be the same for many years."

Luckily for Day, she was able to find her sister-in-law when she was relocated to the nearby community of Anzac via bus.

'It just wiped out our sky'

Day says wildfires is not unusual in the area. But this one, she says,happened suddenly.

"It just wiped out our sky. We could see smoke and you could see the flames. People weren't even able to get back to their homes to rescue their animals it came that quick."

Day also had to leave her cat behind.

Despite the devastation, she says she is "impressed with how people have stepped in to help."