Residents in Northern Alberta Area Affected by Wildfire Expected to Return Home

An aerial view of Fort Chipewyan, Alberta, on the boundary of Wood Buffalo National Park, on Sept. 19, 2011. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)

Residents forced to leave their homes in a community in northern Alberta are being allowed back in with a phased re-entry plan.

The Rural Municipality of Wood Buffalo says an evacuation order, which was issued on May 30 in response to the Rocky River wildfire, remains in place at this time.

However, Alberta Wildfire says a blaze in the southern perimeter is considered 100 per cent under control.

The rural municipality says the evacuation order for the hamlet of Fort Chipewyan, about 730 kilometres northeast of Edmonton, is to be lifted once all essential services are restored.

Hundreds of people were forced to evacuate the area last month due to the wildfire.

Officials say they expect essential services to be restored by Thursday and the public can then begin to return home.

They say vulnerable residents can return home Saturday.

The rural municipality says it’s working with Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Mikisew Cree First Nation and Fort Chipewyan Métis Nation on the re-entry plan.