Like so many in Fort McMurray, the Heagy family narrowly escaped the wildfire with little more than the clothes on their backs. Now, with their hometown in ruins and their jobs on hold, the family is hoping to find a place to process the loss.

Originally from Toronto and the surrounding area, Coleman Heagy, and his wife Sarah want to return to the city with their two young children so they can be with family.

"Our two-year-old has been asking us to go home and we have to keep telling him 'We'll be home soon,'" said Coleman Heagy in an interview Tuesday with Metro Morning.

"For us to try to get back into our regular lifestyle is the main priority right now."

Escaping the wildfire

The decision comes after a harrowing journey out of the wildfire's path last week.

It took two tries for the family to successfully travel south out of Fort McMurray, eventually arriving in Edmonton to stay with friends.

Traffic lines the highway as residents leave Fort McMurray on Tuesday May 3, 2016. (Jason Franson The Canadian Press)

"It was pretty shocking," said Heagy. "The evacuation order hadn't been sent yet ... we heard that a gas station blew up south of town and that access was going to be blocked within minutes."

"It was still pretty crazy to see all the cars on the road. Imagine everyone in your neighbourhood leaves your neighbourhood at once."

Finding a home on Facebook

On Tuesday night the Heagys will board a plane to return to Toronto, as they await the rebuild of their devastated Fort McMurray community.

"Even if the town is declared safe to go back to I can't imagine it being a spot where it is good for a family," said Heagy.

Sarah Heagy wrote this post on Facebook in hopes of finding a home for her family in the wake of the Fort McMurray wildfire. (Sarah Heagy/Facbeook)

But without a place to call home, the family has turned to Facebook for help.

On Friday, Sarah Heagy posted a plea to Torontonians to aid them in the search for temporary housing. Since then, the post has been shared over 5,000 times.

"The support and generosity has been amazing," said Heagy.