The daughter of a deputy fire chief was killed in a fiery highway crash as she was fleeing the wildfires in Fort McMurray.
The northern Alberta community is under a mandatory evacuation order, and Emily Ryan was one of the thousands of people leaving the area on Wednesday.
Emily Ryan, 15, was killed in a highway crash after evacuating from her Fort McMurray home. (Facebook)
Ryan was a Grade 9 student at Fort McMurray Composite High School, school officials confirmed.
"Emily Ryan, one of the triplets, died at the scene. She was a vibrant, engaging member of our student body," said principal Kevin Bergen in a statement.
Ryan and her 19-year-old cousin Aaron Hodgson were driving away from the city when their SUV collided with a logging truck near Lac La Biche on Highway 881, the Globe and Mail reported.
The crash ignited a fire that briefly closed the highway, which is one of only two routes out of the area.
Both teens died on the scene.
The accident happened as Emily's father, Cranley Ryan, was fighting the inferno. He has since been relieved of active duty to be with his grieving family, 660 News reported.
The wildfire in Fort McMurray has grown to over 100,000 hectares. Over 80,000 people have been forced from their homes.
"There's lots of grief to go around, but ultimately anything we lose is just stuff," Emily's sister, Chelsi Ryan, told CBC News.
"We'd let it go a thousand times for Emily to be with us."
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