Water tanker trucks were brought in from Black Diamond

A creage owners south of Calgary awoke Christmas morning to a blaze at a neighbour's home, unaware that a woman and her daughter had left earlier that morning.

Frantic neighbours called 911 and gathered outside the De Winton residence as the flames shot into the pre-dawn sky.

"I was pounding on the door, hollering. No one was answering," said neighbour Herb Schaller. "We were all terrified, thinking they were in there."

Fortunately, the owners weren't home, but only by a half an hour.

Brad Walker said his wife Karen and their seven-year-old daughter Muffy left the acreage around 6:30 a.m. to spend the holiday with him at his job site in Saskatchewan.

A fire broke out less than 30 minutes later. The flames quickly ripped through the house, leaving it gutted.

Okotoks fire crews spent much of Friday putting out flares and hot spots.

Investigators hope today to begin work to determine the cause of the blaze.

Karen Walker made it about 300 kilometres, to Medicine Hat, before she learned about the fire, her husband said.

The family didn't plan to return to the home Friday.

Brad Walker said it's difficult to picture the devastation, but says he's grateful his wife and daughter weren't there.

"You have to put things in perspective," he said. "It's the memorabilia that's the loss, not the structure itself."

The blaze consumed the bungalow and attached garage.

Brad Walker's sister, Pat Walker, arrived at the home at midday Friday to survey the damage. Fire crews handed her a few pictures salvaged from inside, including a picture of Muffy.

"It's not at all what you want to see on Christmas Day," Walker said. "I'm just glad they're alive."

When Okotoks fire crews arrived shortly after 7 a.m., the home was engulfed in flames.

"We weren't able to gain entrance into the structure at all because of the stage the fire was at the time. The walls were starting to collapse, the floor had already collapsed," said Okotoks fire Chief Ken Thevenot. "It's a total loss, complete loss."

Fire crews fought the blaze defensively.

Water tanker trucks were brought in from Black Diamond and Turner Valley to help put out the fire. As many as a dozen of the 9,000-litre tankers were used to fight the flames, said Thevenot.

Walker said he's grateful he wasn't there to watch helplessly, adding his first glimpse of the burnt-out shell will be difficult.

"I'm glad I didn't see it," he said. "There's nothing to salvage."