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Wrigley residents have been told they can come home after an evacuation over a nearby wildfire that began a month ago.
In a notice, the community told residents they would be permitted access from Fort Simpson to Wrigley via Highway 1 after 5pm on Wednesday. Both ferry crossings are operating regular schedules.
Two flights from Fort Smith, where many evacuees were staying, will run on Thursday morning. Registration was taking place at the Pelican Hotel on Wednesday late afternoon and evening.
The proximity of fire FS015 forced the Dehcho community of about 130 people to declare an evacuation order on June 29.
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The fire moved to within five kilometres of Wrigley earlier this month but has since been met by a controlled burn designed to remove fuel and keep FS015 at a safe distance.
Cooler weather and rain have been helping firefighters this week. No buildings have been reported lost. Recent work has focused on reinforcing fire breaks and removing trees that could pose a danger.
Chief Jamie Moses of the Wrigley-based Pehdzéh Kı̨ First Nation said in recent days he had been pushing the territorial government for a sense of when residents would be allowed home. Dozens of Wrigley residents who left the community have been staying in Fort Smith, a 10-hour drive or two-hour flight away.
Last weekend, Chief Moses said he had spoken with Premier RJ Simpson and environment minister Jay Macdonald “and conveyed to them that we need to identify what the priorities and concerns are to get members home ASAP.”
“We need to know exactly what is preventing everyone from coming home. Is it this fire here or ones on the highway? We’d like to know,” he wrote at the time.
