Victoria Duncan is relieved to hear that her sister Stephanie is safe after fleeing Fort McMurray, Alta. on Tuesday night, as wildfires enclosed on the city.

Duncan spent hours online at her Barrie home trying to help her sister and her boyfriend map a way out.

"Yesterday was honestly like a zombie apocalypse, the whole city ran out," Stephanie told Duncan over the phone on Wednesday.

"It was scary. She was basically saying the ‘Super 8 beside me is burning down’ while she was in the car," Duncan says.

They are now safe at a camp site with just a few personal belongings, but they're unsure what's left of their home.

"Very relieved. Last night was tense, not knowing and then hearing reports of highways closing."

In Hillsdale, Tasha Maskell was reviewing text messages she received from her sister Dana on Tuesday night.

"She said my town is on fire, only made it to Edmonton."

Dana works in the oil sands in Fort McMurray and lost everything.

"(She) just told me that she's safe, homeless, everything is gone," says Maskell. “It's really heartbreaking."

As she waits for another message from Dana, she watches the news in despair.

"I think it really kind of hit fast in the afternoon with the winds and people probably didn’t imagine that would happen."

On Wednesday in the House of Commons, Simcoe-Grey MP Kellie Leitch said that the home she grew up in, which was built by her father, burned to the ground. 

She asked that everyone support the Canadian Red Cross effort to assist the victims. People can also get in touch with The Salvation Army if they want to help.

Alberta took sad stock Wednesday of the devastation from a wildfire that torched entire neighbourhoods and forced more than 80,000 to flee the oilsands city.

Fire crews, backed by helicopters and air tankers, braced for renewed incursions from waves of flame menacing the city, awaiting only a cruel twist in the high winds to attack.

Premier Rachel Notley said about 1,600 buildings, most of them homes, were hit by the fire that leapt over crews late Tuesday afternoon and raced into the city.

"There's been fairly significant destruction of residences," said Notley.

She and her officials admitted the outlook remained grim as the fire, which obliterated neighbourhoods to the south and west, moved north.

"It is a possibility that we may lose a large portion of the town," said Scott Long with Alberta Emergency Management.

There were no reports of injuries or deaths.

The wildfire was still listed out of control as it curled around the city, 435 kilometres northeast of Edmonton.

By mid-day Wednesday, the looming flames forced officials to abandon the evacuation command centre near the airport.

The downtown remained "mostly unaffected" and all 105 patients and clients in the hospital were safely airlifted to other care centres, she said.

In Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government will provide all possible assistance to Alberta.

With files from The Canadian Press.