Yellowknife evacuees hopeful they’ll be allowed to return home tomorrow

Yellowknife residents are crossing their fingers that tomorrow’s scheduled lifting of a general evacuation order will go ahead as planned and they’ll be allowed to return home.

The lifting of the order remains contingent on fire and highway conditions, but N.W.T. wildfire information officer Mike Westwick said yesterday that no challenges are expected for Highway 1 for the next few days.

Yellowknife city manager Sheila Bassi-Kellett says workers in grocery stores, pharmacies, home-heating providers, and even some taxi drivers and daycare providers are on their way back to the city in advance of tomorrow.

Bassi-Kellett notes the city is getting ready for people clearing three weeks of food out of their refrigerators.

Residents have already been advised they should prepare to be self-reliant for 72 hours upon their return.

NWT Emergency Management Organization information officer Jay Boast says over 2,000 people have pre-registered for re-entry flights, following a call to do so Saturday so the territory would know how many flights they’ll need.