First N.L. workers escaping Fort McMurray fires land in St. John's

The first batch of workers fleeing the Fort McMurraywildfires have landed in St. John's.

• WATCH: Videos of Fort McMurray wildfires

Several workers landed atSt. John's International Airport on Wednesday afternoonafter a day spent travelling fromthe embattled oil town.

Harbour Grace's Brandon Parsons said his employer had to organize a chartered flight to Edmonton for workers after the highway south of Fort McMurray shut down.

"We got about 20 minutes away and then the road was shut off, the cops had it barred off," he said.

"We had to turn back and go back to site, and then we got a chartered flight to Edmonton."

Tony Osborne said he was around 80 kilometres north of Fort McMurray when he left the area.

He said it was surreal to see the wreckage from the air.

"It's pretty disturbing actually, when you've lived in a place for so longand you see the type of destruction that can happen," he said.

Neil Bishop, who fled the city southbound on Highway 63, said he made it out just before the highway shut down.

"[There were] flames jumping the highway all the time, back and forth," he said."It was unreal, 90 per centof the town is gone, they say."

Back home inNewfoundland, Osborne, Parsons andBishop areunsure of when they canreturn to Alberta.

"We're home now until further notice, that's what we've beentold," said Bishop."Someone's going to go back eventually to rebuild the town. It's going to have to be done."