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An estimated 88,000 people fled from Fort McMurray to escape raging wildfires that had crossed into the northern Alberta city. Some went north, seeking refuge in the work camps, while many others came south – to Anzac, to Lac la Biche and to Edmonton. Here are some of their stories.

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‘By the time I left, there was a lineup of about 200 cars’

Amanda Helmle

• Occupation: Mom of 10-month-old girl

• Neighbourhood: Timberlea

• Where staying: Parents’ home in Edmonton

“Had I not gone and got groceries, I don’t think we would have evacuated when we did. We woke up in the morning. There was no smoke, it was a clear day. I thought they must have got a good handle on the fires. My parents were up visiting from Edmonton and we all thought we could take the baby for a walk.

“At about one in the afternoon, I’d gone to pick up a few groceries for supper and noticed how bad the smoke clouds were, just turning black in the sky. I noticed on my way home, there was a smoke cloud straight west of my house which meant that the fire had likely jumped the river. I drove home and pointed it out to my dad and he said, ‘This is crazy, we’re going to pack up and go,’ because we have my 10-month-old baby. At that point, there was no mandatory evacuation for the whole city. I threw a few things haphazardly in a suitcase, grabbed our passports, baby clothes, and ran to the gas station as quickly as I could and was fortunate to get there when I did. I was about the third car in and by the time I left, there was a lineup of about 200 cars.