Sapotaweyak Cree Nation fire evacuation order lifted
An evacuation order has been lifted for a Manitoba First Nation threatened by wildfire, and people living there are starting to return home this weekend.
Hundreds of members of Sapotaweyak Cree Nation have spent two weeks living in hotels far from home and worrying about what they'd return home to and when.
They included Margaret Leask, who got the good news Saturday in Brandon, Man. She remembers what conditions were like when she was told to leave the community, located about 400 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg.
"It was smoky, winds were picking up too, the direction of fires kept changing too, there was a lot of water bombers. It looked pretty terrifying to me," she told CBC News.
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She said she spent her time away from home coordinating care and activities for others who, like her, had been forced out.
A crew of 21 stayed behind in Sapotaweyak to help protect infrastructure. They got help from the air and ground crews from Manitoba, Quebec and Ontario who have been working around the clock to fight fires.
Their efforts were helped as well by rain and humidity.
The Red Cross previously said 890 people from Sapotaweyak registered as evacuees. Some were expected to drive home this weekend, while about 600 more will arrive by bus early next week.
A massive wildfire continues to burn out of control in Manitoba's east. About 1,200 people from the communities of Pauingassi and Little Grand Rapids are still in Winnipeg.