"I am in Fort Mac. with my husband and 2 girls. My work is trying to get us a flight out. I spent the night in camp out at Beaver Lodge near CNRL (Canadian Natural Resources Limited). We left with basically nothing! I can't stop crying. I just want out of here."
That was the message from Tara Clair to BayToday's Facebook page as she faced danger and an uncertain future with her family trying to flee Fort McMurray.
She was born and raised in North Bay but was living in Fort McMurray with her husband Jacob and working for a contractor called Bouchier at CNRL.
"We still have our home but had to leave quickly and are staying with my parents in Corbeil till we know the next step", she said.
"My kids were at home with their Dad and I was working about an hour away. I didn't want to leave them to go to work that morning. Around 11 o'clock I knew something was wrong. The company took us to the main gates, but my husband was still an hour away. The road was jam packed."
Tara says people were being told to head north into the camps.
"I was terrified. Once you go north you're basically trapped. When we went north we learned that to go south wasn't an option. I became really, really, really scared. I have a two year old and a six year old, both girls and I was terrified, but in the midst of everything everybody stayed really calm, not like you see in the movies, and people were beyond generous.
"Once we arrived at camp we learned that we couldn't get a room. A guy came up to us and he offered us his room. I broke down crying. He slept in his truck. It was just amazing."
The family finally got a flight out to Calgary and from there to Toronto, then drove to North Bay.
They are now staying at her parent's place in Corbeil with everybody safe, but with no idea when they'll be going back. She is pretty sure it will be more than a month.
Power isn't available, and drinking water has to be boiled and nobody is left in town.
"We need the grocery store back up and running, the hospital to be running before we go back."
What Tara felt strongly was the concern all the residents had for each other.
"When my friends were in crisis in Fort McMurray trying to get their families to safety, they also contacted me to make sure me and my family were safe. It was amazing how people came together like that.
'I've never in my life been so proud to be an Albertan, an Ontarian and a Canadian. I received so many donations, so many phone calls, so much outreach. I can't believe what some people were willing to do for me when they didn't even know me.
"It's been pretty crazy. We can wrap our heads around the fact that a fire came through our community, but I don't know if people can really wrap their heads around how generous people have been. It's pretty awesome."
