A man fled the Alberta wildfires only to discover his home in Cape Breton had burned down.
Bruce MacDonald, who works as a labourer during oil field shutdown periods in Fort McMurray, was making his way home and was in Toronto when he was told that his Cape North, N.S., house was destroyed by a fire on Thursday.
His 20-year-old son was at home at the time of the blaze and made it out safely, according to his brother Norm MacDonald.
Norm MacDonald said he and his wife Cindy started a GoFundMe page to help out and are "overwhelmed" with the response with more than $16,000 pledged since the weekend.
"It started with the hope of maybe a couple of thousand just to help with the necessities until their insurance kicks in and it kind of snowballed," he said.
MacDonald said the support is typical for Cape Breton where people are quick to step up to help others in times of crisis.
"People in our area they are constantly giving," said MacDonald.
MacDonald said his brother is back in Cape Breton and is staying with his family in temporary lodgings.
"They are overwhelmed, they really can't believe the love and support from everybody," he said. "The main thing is there is no loss of life that's all he (Bruce) is concerned about."
