'I thought we were going to perish': Construction workers safe after wildfire closed in around them

The superintendent of a construction crew that sheltered in a shipping container as an out of control wildfire closed in around them says they're lucky to be alive.

The 19-person crew — with all but one hailing from communities across Manitoba —- had been working at a job site near Sandy Lake in northwestern Ontario. The site included workers from Sigfusson Northern and Milestone Environmental Contracting Inc. who were doing a project for Sandy Lake First Nation.

Terrifying video posted to social media shows the massive flames and smoke leaping above the treeline against a red sky, just meters from where the group was huddled.

"I thought we're going to perish, actually," said Neal Gillespie, who works with Milestone Environmental Contracting Inc.

Gillespie said the fire was about 40 kilometres away when the work day began on Saturday morning. The fire was quite a bit closer around 9:30 a.m. and the crew began packing up some of the gear in case they had to flee.

"Things started to turn a little worse," he said.

He said someone from Sandy Lake First Nation called them about putting in fire breaks, so they gathered some equipment together and moved toward a work camp 14 kilometres to the west.

"As soon as we start getting our gear out there, within the next 45 minutes, that's how quick the fire jumped on top of us," he said. 

He said the group had to abandon their equipment, and gather together inside the 'very barren' camp area,  following the emergency planning they'd been doing for weeks.   

They used the cargo container to get away from the flames and heavy smoke.

"The fire came up and danced literally right around us," said Gillespie, adding that a few of the cargo containers around where they sat started to catch fire.

"I thought we were going to perish actually. It wasn't good."

They decided to flee the shipping container, and when they got out, part of it caught on fire as well

There were several attempts to get the crew out by helicopter but the smoke was too thick to find them or land, Gillespie said.