Thousands of wildfire evacuees head home as Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation continues phased return
The First Nation, nearly 700 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, announced Wednesday on social media its leadership had approved a phased repatriation, with private vehicles allowed to return immediately and plans to start busing people back to the community on Friday.
Coun. Kim Linklater said evacuees staying in Thompson had already left that city, and the First Nation was working to get evacuees in Winnipeg back home on Friday.
"There'll be about seven buses pulling in this evening," Linklater said. The community is also "opening our doors" for Priority 1 residents — those considered most at risk due to health concerns — who are ready to come back, said Linklater.
Buses are expected to begin transporting evacuees from Portage la Prairie on Saturday.
The First Nation issued a mandatory evacuation order on Aug. 2. More than 3,000 residents were told they had to leave amid poor air quality, with a wildfire threatening road access to the community.
Linklater said about 2,000 people should've been able to return as of Friday.
But about 600 evacuees flown out to Niagara Falls, Ont., may have to wait longer to return home.
Linklater said there's a lack of available charter flights because of demand from other communities and from firefighters.
"We're going to start [charters] probably next week, because there's no flights available," she said. "We'll just have to wait, I guess, when they have flights for us, and we're going to start bringing our people back."
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