Evacuated St. Theresa Point residents happy to be heading home

More than 1,000 wildfire evacuees will return home Sunday and Monday.

• In pictures: Manitoba First Nation wildfire evacuations
• Wildfire smoke reducing air quality in northern Manitoba: Environment Canada

The Red Cross confirmed Sunday evacuees who fled flames and smoke in St. Theresa Point are headed home.

The decision was made by the federal government and the First Nation's chief, the Red Cross said.

St. Theresa Point Chief David McDougall said around 160 non-priority evacuees those without health problems, the very young or elderly started heading home a couple days ago. Now, all evacuees are clear to return.

"There's a big sense of relief," he said.

McDougall has been in contact with people in St. Theresa Point, who tell him "it's a beautiful" day in the community.

The fire, which also forced evacuations from the Island Lake First Nation communities of Wasagamackand Garden Hill, is "being held" at 28,000 hectares and is not likely to threaten the community, the province said in a release on Friday.

Despite a few remaining hot spots, the fire has burned up most of its fuel, the dry undergrowth and pine needles, so there is not much of a risk that it will flare up again, McDougall said. The only concern now is that smoke could blow back into the community, he said.

Evacuees 'excited' to head home

Bus loads full of evacuees are leaving the downtown Radisson and Marlborough hotels Sunday.

Alfred Wood is one of the evacuees returning home."I'm so excited, I hope my house is still there, I am worried about my dog, if it's still alive, I don't know."

Wood said the first thing he'll do when he gets home is have a cup of coffee. "I miss home, I miss my bed."

He said his mom who uses a wheelchair to get around and doesn't speak Englishis also excited to leave the city.

"She is really happy to go home, she wants her house."

Vincent Mason, another evacuee, was smiling andholding his great grandsonwhen a bus showed up outside his hotel.

"I'm going to go home," he said.

Many of the evacuees were children, and the evacuations have delayed the start of the new school year. Once everyone is back in the community, school should start back up in a few days, McDougall said.

While they were in the city, McDougall said he worried about the safety of the youth, who were not familiar with the city and people who live here.

"There's risk in the city when you're not street smart," he said."That's what worried me most during the evacuation."

The Red Cross said the majority of the 1,068 St. Theresa Point evacuees would be flown home Sunday and the goal is to have all evacuees back in the community within the next couple of days.

"It is great that the people of St. Theresa Point are able to head home and get back to their lives," saidShawn Feely,Canadian Red Cross vice-president for Manitoba andNunavut.

Garden Hill, Wasagamack waiting

Residents of Wasagamack First Nation are still at least a day or more away from going home.

Approximately 2,000 people were evacuated after wildfires burned within a few hundred metres of the community.

A team from the First Nation is heading back to meet with representatives of Health Canada and Manitoba's Sustainable Development.

Experts will check water quality and whether there has been smoke damage in the community.

Wasagamack Chief Alex McDougall says his people can't wait.

"Everybody wants to go home."

Nearly 2,000 people from nearby Garden Hill First Nationare also waiting for notice they can go home.

Garden Hill Chief Dino Flett says the leadership will do a fire and smore report today.

"Then we'll decide if it's safe to go home. Hopefully this week," Fleet said.