With residents of Fort McMurray forced to abandon their homes and belongings, donations and help from regular people from all over Canada, including Quebec, have begun to flood in.

Montrealer Bruce Munro, a member of the Royal Canadian Legion, said he has experienced the kindness of strangers in the past. Seeing the urgent situation in Fort McMurray, he said he had to act.

“In 1998, I went 28 days without power in Hemmingford and people donated a lot from around the province,” he said. “When I saw the devastation, I broke down and cried and said, 'I have to do something,' and this is my way of helping.”

He called a relief centre in Alberta, which informed him that the items most needed were toiletries like soap, shampoo and shaving materials. Munro set up collection boxes at several legions, golf courses and bars and hopes to fill a large truck with the donations by next weekend, which he will then drive to Alberta.

“Monday, I’m getting in it and heading out there and delivering it all to them,” he said. “I challenge everybody to bring me stuff or start their own, because those poor people really need our help.”

To assist Munro's efforts, drop off supplies to any of these points:

Canadians have so far donated $30 million to the Canadian Red Cross relief efforts. The federal and Alberta government have agreed to match every dollar raised.

In Montreal, the Red Cross has set up a special call centre to assist with the volume of calls that have been coming in.

“People have been extremely generous with their donations and the more people give, the more the Red Cross is able to help,” said Red Cross spokesperson Stephanie Picard. “We stand ready to help in the emergency phase and as people work to recover from this disaster.”

If you'd like to donate to the Red Cross' efforts in Fort McMurray, click here.