Ginette Graves took one bag when she fled Fort McMurray, a passenger in her neighbour's truck as it crawled the first few kilometres south of the city.
"Today's a bad day. Yesterday was adrenaline-fueled. Today is reality," she said.
Graves was among 83,000 residents who left their homes behind, victims to a wildfire that forced the evacuation of the entire city. Tuesday reports suggested her neighbourhood, the Timberlea, was the least affected, but wildfire officials say hot, dry conditions aren't helping and the 75-square-kilometre fire may shift north.
"Today we just don't know," she said. "Knowing that it's getting worse today with the weather, the heat and the winds, I don't think we've processed yet. Thinking of all the families still up there, friends, people that are sick that had to be evacuated, all the animals, it's emotionally devastating."
Graves spent most of her life in Prince George and worked at the Prince George Citizen for six years as a receptionist and an advertising traffic co-ordinator. She moved away four years ago when her husband was transferred to Fort McMurray.
A police officer and dog handler, he has stayed behind to help with evacuation efforts with her two "fur babies." She's not quite sure what he's doing now because contact is so intermittent.
"I know he's helping and I get comfort in that but you still want to be with your family. It's hard being separated at this time with not much communication because they're so busy."
He texts every eight hours or so just to say he's safe.
"Being apart is the hardest, and feeling helpless," she said. "We had a home yesterday, we'll see what today brings."
In the late afternoon Tuesday, when town residents got word they needed to leave, Graves was at her job at Scotiabank. After a brief stop at home, they found they couldn't escape north - where they were told to go - because the overpass was blocked.
"It changed so fast," she said of the wildfire's proximity to town. "You see flames right as you walk out the door. Right looking through your backyard. Panic sets in."
The normally four-hour drive to St. Albert took 10 hours.
"It was just grid-lock everywhere," she said.
"At one point we had to drive through the fire (and it) was right at the road," she said, her voice cracking. "There were vehicles burnt out already."
Looking back at the day before, she said the best-laid plans don't always work out.
"When you're told to pack up and pack the things that are the most important to you, there's nothing in a home that's important to you. I grabbed one bag. I didn't have photos," she said. "The only thing that matters is ourselves and our dogs. Everything is else is secondary."
Even so, she can't fathom getting over the trauma of those moments and this loss.
"I think this will probably stay with me forever," she said. "I don't think our lives will ever be the same."
-with files from Canadian Press
