Yellowknife: The City of Yellowknife and a nearby First Nation say in a news release that wildfire evacuees may be able to return as soon as Sept. 6.
Residents of the Northwest Territories capital and members of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation are set to be allowed to return home starting at noon that day, barring any increase in wildfire risk between now and then.
The return marks the final phase in a re-entry plan that is currently seeing essential personnel for critical services return.
An increased fire risk along Highway 1 had delayed the return of some essential workers, but officials say most are set to be back on Monday and Tuesday as part of efforts to re-establish basic services.
An evacuation order for Yellowknife and the nearby First Nation communities of Ndilo and Dettah was issued on Aug. 16.
About 70 per cent of the territory’s population has been out of their homes for two weeks, and for residents of communities near the Alberta boundary it has been longer. — Canadian Press