An emotional presentation at La Verendrye School in Portage la Prairie outlined the stories of two Fort McMurray evacuees, who grew up in Portage. The presentation was coordinated by Grade 7 student Zoe Murray, who'd been working on the assignment for the past two weeks. She notes her main goal of presenting these stories to the school was to raise awareness of just what's happening in that area. 

Zoe Murray speaks to students

"I just wanted to raise awareness that this is a big issue, and like one of our presenters said it was going to be a beautiful day, but saw just how quickly everything could change."

One of the presenters was Genna Sharpe, an LVS and PCI Alumni, who's lived in Fort McMurray for about three years. While some evacuees are expected to begin returning to the area this week, Sharpe outlines she's waiting a little bit longer to allow everything to settle. She made it through the ordeal while facing an extra challenge. She was due to give birth to her daughter around the same time the evacuations began.

Genna Sharpe shares her story"I was very pregnant. That night I was going to get my nails done, and that was the last thing on my to-do list before having the baby. I was quite prepared that he or she was coming in the next few days. It was very hard, I didn't want to leave my house for that reason, I didn't want to leave her little nursery."

They evacuated on May 3rd, and Sharpe gave birth to her daughter - Arie Grace Horning-- on Mothers Day, just five days later. She says it was surreal just how quickly everything had changed. She notes the morning of the day they evacuated, the sky was clear and she and her son were able to take a peaceful walk around the neighbourhood. However, she notes that all changed after a quick nap.

"It was a very eerie feeling in the house, and when I looked out the big front window to the front, all I could see was smoke and an amber colour in the sky. Everyone in the neighbourhood was scurrying around, people standing outside in their driveways and on the sidewalks. That's when we started outside, talking to the neighbourhood to see what was going on, and checking Facebook to see the messages and people that were leaving."

Sharpe --who describes herself as an over-packer-- says gathering items in preparation was a very different experience. She notes what started as simply gathering clothes and supplies, quickly turned into saving their most cherished items.

"We basically packed a few outfits for all of us for a few days. As the time went on and I started to see more messages, and listening to the radio around the house, hearing some of the announcements, I started to grab more sentimental things. I had one basket of my son's little picture books, and daycare art projects that I ended up grabbing, and then some important papers and passports."

Another evacuee highlighted during the presentation was Ninna Forte, who spoke over Facetime to the students. She was another mother to give birth during the evacuation, and named their daughter Briar, after a reporter who was covering the fires.

Overall, both women said they were incredibly grateful for the support, not just of their friends and neighbours, but from those across the country. Both say the response has been amazing, and Sharpe says she doesn't know where she'd be without all the help.

"It's incredibly humbling and overwhelming. It's a position I never thought I would be in, and we're just so grateful. I just want to say thank you to everyone, for the messages, the generosity, the hugs, the phone calls, and the kindness. We just can't thank everyone enough."