Twenty-two days after they were evacuated from the capital of the Northwest Territories in the face of a racing wildfire, the roughly 20,000 residents of Yellowknife began returning home on Wednesday to refrigerators filled with spoiled food to restart their lives in a city that averted disaster.
Cars and trucks bearing the territory’s distinctive polar-bear-shaped license plate took to the road after officials declared on Monday that it would most likely be safe to return on Wednesday.
The last highway roadblock impeding access was lifted at 11 a.m. local time, earlier than expected, and scheduled airline flights resumed on Wednesday.
The first two of a series of evacuee flights on chartered and military aircraft from the Alberta cities of Edmonton and Calgary, which both hosted thousands of Yellowknife residents, arrived on Wednesday.
(To drive from Edmonton, the closest major city, takes about 24 hours.)
Organizations:
Northwest
Locations:
Northwest Territories, Yellowknife, Alberta, Edmonton, Calgary