Bruce MacDonald has a story that will be told at family dinners for generations to come.
The Nova Scotia man, who works in the oilsands, was one of the legions of people evacuated from Fort McMurray, Alta. after a menacing wildfire got dangerously close to the city, according to CBC News.
But when MacDonald returned to Cape Breton, he found his home had burned down.
"There's ashes and some timber. Pretty much everything was lost in that fire," said his brother, Norm.
CTV News reports MacDonald's son was in the home when the fire started, but the family luckily made it out safely.
“If that would've happened through the night, he would have lost his whole family," Norm said.
'Blown away' by fundraiser
In the meantime, the MacDonalds are currently staying with residents who live nearby.
On Friday, Norm launched a GoFundMe fundraiser, a crowdfunding website. The initial goal was $10,000, but as of Monday more than $14,000 has been raised.
"They're really blown away. They really weren't expecting it," Norm's wife Cindy told CTV News.
The wildfire in Fort McMurray has torched 1,600 structures and forced the mandatory evacuation of more than 80,000 from the city last week.
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