‘We’re keeping a couple bags packed’: Weyakwin, Sask., residents start returning after evac order lifted [Video]

Lisa Powder and her great grandchildren were among the first Weyakwin residents to return home after fleeing a wildfire that burned dangerously close to the northern Saskatchewan community.

“It’s sad to come home to see it like this,” Powder said while walking to a neighbour’s house Thursday afternoon.

“Kind of scary with all the smoke and knowing the fires are still around. So we’re keeping a couple bags packed just in case.”

An evacuation order for Weyakwin, a hamlet located about 250 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon, was lifted on Thursday, allowing residents back in for the first time in a week. Thick smoke remains, as does the threat of spot fires.

Powder is grateful for the firefighters and other crews that stopped the …