The evacuation of Fort McMurray has created a mass exodus, especially for those who have a place to go.
It was an unplanned homecoming for many Windsorites, who were working and living near the raging wildfire.
They describe being back in Windsor as a good feeling, having escaped one of the worst disasters in the nation's history. But they also worry about what will come of the place that's been their home away from home.
Joe Rogers and Martin Berg work at Suncor, about a half-hour from the wildfire that's burning its way through the neighbourhoods of Fort McMurray.
“The air quality wasn't good at all,” says Rogers. “The city is pretty much going to be gone."
“There was like a 40-foot, 50-foot flame at the top of the hill and it just went from there."
Mohammed Souweid was born and raised in Windsor, but moved to Fort McMurrey eight years ago, that was his new home.
“The sky was on fire, that's exactly what it looked like,” says Souweid. “Seeing the flames on the way out was kind of scary though. It was like Armageddon. Pieces of debris falling on your car, that are still lit, that's what it hit me, when reality sunk in."
These Windsorites feel lucky. Reality is still grim for many who have nowhere else to go.
“Families, babies, dogs, everything - people were just all looking for places," says Berg.
Hundreds of out-of-town workers have left the oil field work camps, giving their beds to Albertans who have lost everything.
“We don't know what's going on with work, and families there, there's a lot of children, and they're scared and they need a place to go."
