A man from Nova Scotia, now living in devastated Fort McMurray, wrote a powerful, heartfelt Facebook post about his experience being evacuated to an oilsands camp as fire ripped through his city.
Writing “in the dark on the floor of a camp room” John Craig MacIsaac, originally from Goshen, N.S., says he’s thankful his family got a room, unlike the many others seeking refuge there.
“Right now I am so jealous of my children because they have no fears, no sense of loss about everything,” MacIsaac wrote.
“It’s actually calming for me to reassure my daughter that her toys don’t matter, and that the few personal items we got out are all we need.”
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Tens of thousands of Fort McMurray residents were forced from their homes as the fire worsened, flattening homes and buildings in several neighbourhoods.
“It’s funny because as I stare in the dark I keep telling myself that the words running through my head aren’t true. The words ‘it’s all gone’ won’t pass.”
MacIsaac wrote that he’s not writing for sympathy, but instead to get his feelings off his chest, and to remind people to “squeeze your kids a little tighter this week.”
“Read them [an] extra bed time story. Give them [an] ice cream and watch them smile. Call your sister you are angry at and make up, or your brother you haven’t had time to chat with in a while and say hi,” his emotional post reads.
“Tell your loved ones they are loved and make time for a family dinner.”
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MacIsaac moved to Fort McMurray in 2008, hoping to “make a few dollars and leave,” however he writes that the place has become his home. He describes the welcoming, friendly community he’s decided to raise his children, live his life and make his memories in.
“As I left town tonight I saw emergency workers still working. Risking their lives to get us all out. Police. Paramedics. Firefighters. And from what I have heard so far we all got out,” MacIsaac wrote.
He also mentions the camp workers, filing to the desk to hand in their keys so fleeing families would have a place to rest their heads.
“People smiling and people in tears, and children running and laughing. It gives me hope that people are better than we think. More caring and selfless. Kind and compassionate.”
He goes on to say that though he doesn’t know what’s left of his Alberta home, he knows “it will stand again.”
“We are young and love our home. We have built it together as it has built us and our families,” MacIsaac wrote.
“And the sense of community is what I have always known from growing up in small towns like most of the people here.”
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