Newfoundlander flees Fort McMurray fires with ashes of boyfriend

Ashley Reddy managed to grab just a few things fromher home in Fort McMurrayamid the chaos of last week's city-wideevacuation order. One precious item was the remains of herrecently-deceased boyfriend, Robert Adams.

"I panicked, so what I grabbed was pretty irrelevant," the 27-year-old told CBC Radio'sSt. John's Morning Show on Wednesday. "I managed to get one sentimental item... my boyfriend's ashes."

Adams who Reddy calls down-to-earth, smart, witty and widely-loved died in January as a result of heart failure. He was 33.

"2016 has been awful," she said.

A nightmare

The wildfire that devastated Fort McMurrayripped through her neighbourhood of Timberlea, leaving Reddy homeless. She's now back in Newfoundland, living with her father.

"I've lost everything I own," she said. "It was a nightmare. One of the worst things I've ever seen."

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She saidshe didn't have home insurance to cover her losses, leaving her to wonder about the next steps.

"I don't know where I go from here," she said. "I still have a job, that's a good thing.I'm not sure when I get to go back."

Bittersweet return

Back with her family in Newfoundland, Reddy saidshe's been receiving lots of support from her friends and family.

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Still, she wishes her return was under better circumstances.

"The past couple of times I've been home, it's been for tragedies," she says. Her last trip home in January was to attend the funeral for Adams.

"It's nice to be around my friends and family, that's for sure. I need them right now."