Nearly 2,000 evacuees will begin heading home as evacuation orders for several communities affected by wildfires have been lifted.

Approximately 1,785 evacuees from Sherridon, Herb Lake Landing, Cranberry Portage and Snow Lake can return home as of 8 a.m. Saturday.

“I think we dodged a really big bullet this year,” Snow Lake Mayor Ron Scott said Friday. “I know everyone should be very happy to get home, and hopefully can put this behind us.”

Fire crews work on wildfires in Sherridon on June 6.

About 800 residents of Snow Lake, a seven-hour drive north of Winnipeg, were evacuated June 6 and scattered throughout the province to wait out the emergency. Scott stayed behind with several emergency operations staff and assisted fire crews in protecting the community from a 370,000-hectare blaze burning nearby.

At one point, the inferno came within 35 kilometres of the community, the mayor said.

Scott consulted with provincial departments and wildfire officials to determine the community was safe to return to, and crews have done preventative work should the flames close in again this summer.

There is currently no immediate fire threat to the town.

“The fire department was cutting trees, cutting brush, so we’re actually in a much better position now to handle whatever nature throws at us over the course of the summer. We’re going to have to keep a very vigilant eye on what that fire is doing and what the rest of the summer is going,” Scott said.

Snow Lake hasn’t been evacuated due to wildfire since 1989.

In an update to social media, Sherridon deputy mayor Sheryl Matheson said upon consultation with the Manitoba Wildfire Service, the mandatory evacuation order was lifted and the community is safe to return to.

Critical infrastructure has not been affected, the update said, but it is recommended residents run all house taps for five minutes to flush the water lines.

Sherridon residents were evacuated May 25 and were either sent to Dauphin or stayed with family outside the community.

The fire near Sherridon is the same one that has affected Snow Lake. It began as a small blaze but merged with the inferno burning near Flin Flon last week. It continues to burn out of control.

During a news conference Thursday, the province said it is ultimately up to local authorities to lift evacuation orders.

On Wednesday, residents from Cranberry Portage were told they could return home beginning Saturday, RM of Kelsey emergency co-ordinator Lori Forbes said earlier this week.

Forbes said recent rain and higher humidity levels helped crews control the flames south of the community.

Flin Flon Mayor George Fontaine said his community of about 5,000 is slowly preparing essential services so the city is ready by the time residents can return home.

“They’re working on the logistics now,” he said. “Grocery places, that sort of thing. They’ll have to get someone in to reorganize and restock for when people, eventually, come back.”

Fontaine couldn’t say when the all-clear would be issued.

As of Friday, there were 21 active wildfires, with five of them considered out of control. To date, there have been 117 fires, which is above the average annual number of 108 fires.

Crews from across Canada and the U.S. continue to aid Manitoba in the battle.

At last count, 342 firefighters and personnel were assisting Manitoba crews, as per data from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, which is based in Winnipeg.

Spokesperson Alexandria Jones said she does not anticipate upcoming mobilizations, but noted the situation is fluid and can change daily.

This week, the provincial government shuttered reception centres in Winnipeg.

A provincial spokesperson confirmed the evacuation site at the soccer complex on Leila Avenue is the only emergency shelter still open.

“As more and more hotel rooms are found for evacuees, the only Winnipeg congregate shelter in use is the Leila site,” the spokesperson said in an email.

Doors were locked Friday morning at Century Arena, one of several reception centres in the city.

A City of Winnipeg worker said no one has been at the site for several days.

On the province’s website, the only reception centres listed are the Billy Mosienko Arena in Winnipeg, Baacos Restaurant in Thompson and the Victoria Inn in Brandon.

When the province declared a 30-day state of emergency on May 28, it set up a reception centre at Billy Mosienko Arena, and later, intake areas at Eric Coy and Century arenas in Winnipeg.

The Century Arena site was used early on in the evacuations, but all evacuees are now being supported at the Leila site or have been placed in hotels, the spokesperson said.

The Century Arena site was moved to standby on June 6 pending any additional evacuations, and no timelines have been set for take-down.

The only other site operated in conjunction with the province and the Red Cross that is currently hosting evacuees is in Thompson.

As of Friday, there were 180 evacuees at that site and there were less than 90 at the Leila site, the spokesperson said.

More than 21,000 people evacuees have registered with the Red Cross in Manitoba.

On Thursday evening after taking an aerial tour of fire-scorched areas, Premier Wab Kinew urged local hotels to open their doors to evacuees still needing a place to stay.

“I want Manitobans to know we’re still in a situation where we have to maintain people out of communities where it’s not yet safe to return for at least a few days, and in some cases, it might be weeks,” he said.

He said most of the hotel sector has done a good job, but others should step up and do better.

Kinew stopped short of issuing a formal warning to hotel operators. He acknowledged he has the power, in an emergency, to requisition rooms.

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