STUCK in a traffic jam with no way of going forward or backwards, and with an out-of-control wildfire threatening to engulf her car, Leia Morgan felt an eerie sense of calm as she thought “this is it”.

Former Darlington resident Miss Morgan, who attended Woodham Academy, in Newton Aycliffe, had been living and working in Fort McMurray, in the province of Alberta, for two years and was enjoying life as a hairdresser.

For several days, she watched the flames and smoke on the horizon grow bigger and come closer to the neighbourhood, but she said that no-one seemed too concerned as, she was told, it had happened before but the fire had never reached the city.

Speaking to The Northern Echo from her emergency accommodation in Canada, Miss Morgan, aged 30, explains: “I was working at the salon and it went really dark, as though there was going to be a big thunderstorm, and I thought ‘perfect, it will rain and put the fires out’.

“But then lots of people started running outside.

“The dark skies were red and orange and it looked like an apocalypse.”

After racing back to her apartment to rescue her beloved cat, Lunar, and quickly pack three suitcases of belongings, Miss Morgan found herself stuck in a massive traffic jam as thousands of residents desperately tried to evacuate the area.

Miss Morgan said: “I didn’t know where I was going, I just knew that I needed to get out of town. The traffic was at a standstill really near to the big flames.

“It was pitch black at this point and a tree caught fire right next to my car. I started to panic and I could feel my heart in my throat.

“I thought ‘if this gets me, there’s nowhere I can go because there are too many cars’ “Then I got this weird, eerie feeling of calm and I thought ‘this is it.”

She remained on the phone via Facebook and WhatsApp to family members back in the UK throughout the ordeal, who tried to keep her calm and helped to guide her to safety.

Her mother, Christina Cunningham, who lives in Bishop Auckland, said: “She had a terrible look on her face and she just said ‘I think I am going to die’.

“I said to her ‘Leia, just keep going’.

“I just wanted to be in her place, like any mother would.

She really is my hero.”

Despite flames hitting the car and feeling overwhelmingly disorientated, as the traffic started moving again, Miss Morgan kept driving and eventually saw daylight through the thick smoke.

After reaching temporary accommodation in Edmonton, four hours away, and dropping a thirsty, but unscathed Lunar off, Miss Morgan filled up several Jerry cans of fuel and headed back toward Fort McMurray to help stricken motorists who had run out of gas.

She still does not know what has happened to her apartment.

Meanwhile, Miss Morgan has set-up an online fundraising page to raise money to help the 88,000 people who have been evacuated during the fires.

  • To donate, visit: gofundme.com/22ryubg

Canadian officials last night said they expect to be fighting the massive wildfire that has destroyed large parts of Fort McMurray for months.

And there is fear that the growing wildfire could double in size, reach a major oil sands mine – and even the neighbouring province of Saskatchewan.

The Alberta government said the massive blaze in the province would cover more than 494,211 acres by the end of Sunday and continue to grow because of high temperatures, dry conditions and high winds.