A man who fled the devastating wildfire in Fort McMurray, Alta. arrived back home in Nova Scotia to find his house had burned to the ground.

Bruce MacDonald was on his way home to Cape Horn, N.S. from Alberta on Friday when he learned his house had caught fire and burned down.

“Everything was gone,” MacDonald’s brother, Norm MacDonald, told CTV Atlantic.

“Literally the only thing they had left was the clothes that they had on their backs. There was nothing left. Literally nothing left.”

Bruce MacDonald’s 20-year-old son, who was home alone at the time, woke to the smell of smoke. He was able to escape safely, but the house was lost.

The family is staying with friends while they sort out their next steps. It’s unclear what caused the fire.

An online fundraiser has since been launched to support the family. More than $12,000 has been raised in a few days.

“Every few minutes there was more and more money. That’s not including what was coming in in email money transfers. We just couldn’t believe the outpouring of support,” said Norm’s wife, Cindy, who helped form the fundraiser.

The family declined to be interviewed, but said they are overwhelmed by the generosity they’ve received.

“They’re really blown away. They really weren’t expecting it,” said Cindy MacDonald.

The support is well-deserved, according to Bruce’s brother.

“They’d give their shirts off their back to help people in general, so it’s nice to see that in return,” Norm MacDonald said.

With a report from CTV Atlantic