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 Sapotaweyakto help protect infrastructure. They gothelp from theair and ground crews from Manitoba, Quebecand Ontario who have been working around the clock to fight fires.

Their efforts were helped as well byrain and humidity.

The Red Cross previously said 890 people fromSapotaweyakregistered as evacuees. Some wereexpected to drive home this weekend, while about 600 more will arrivebybus 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.