The scene during evacuations from Fort McMurray last night. Photo courtesy Jerome Garot, Facebook.
Evacuation centres are beginning to fill with people who have fled fire-ravaged Fort McMurray, Alberta.
A mandatory evacuation order was issued for the oilsands city after a wildfire on the edge of the community suddenly shifted direction.
The order sparked a massive stream of people onto Highway 63 — the main road out of the inferno.
The RCMP says its officers came across a lot of vehicles on the side of the highway overnight, with many having run out of gas as they fled town.
There are harrowing stories of people escaping from the flames that have swept into Fort McMurray.
The inferno was all around his neighbourhood when Shawn Brett jumped on his motorcycle and made his way through a traffic jam.
He says ash was hitting him in the face and the heat was intense as he made his way out.
April Bolger frantically called 9-11 for an ambulance to help her ailing toddler daughter, Lilly, but was told she would have to fend for herself.
Bolger put a drenched towel over her child’s face before getting in her vehicle to join a long line of people heading out of town.
She plans to bring Lilly to the Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton.
The wildfire has now destroyed a large part of one neighbourhood and seriously damaged at least two others.
Officials say 80 per cent of the homes in the Beacon Hill suburb toward the south end have been lost.
Heavy losses are being reported in the Abasand and Waterways areas, while a dozen trailers have gone up in flames in Timberlea, but there are no reports of injuries.
Firewatchers say the worst is not over, as high temperatures, low humidity and a strong wind are expected again today.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau opened the Liberal caucus meeting this morning by saying their thoughts are with the people of Fort McMurray.
Trudeau says people have lost their homes, their jobs, and in some cases – everything they own.
But he says Canada is a country where we look out for our neighbours and Canadians will unite around the residents of Fort McMurray.
The Canadian Press has a live feed of the latest updates, including photos and video, on the situation, available here.
This video by a evacuee drives home the urgency of Monday nights evacuation.
The Canadian Press