Evacuees from Cumberland House are beginning to make their way home.
Buses pulled out of Saskatoon and Prince Albert this morning.
Duane McKay, the commissioner of emergency management for the province, says local leaders gave them the order today.
He adds highway crews have worked hard to repair highway 123.
He says buses transporting the evacuees should be light enough — not to get bogged down:
“Yeah these are school buses so they’re light, not coaches. They’ll be monitored. There will be checkpoints at the E.B. Campbell (dam) entrance, that’s at the end of the pavement there, and at the community to make sure people get through safely. Heavy transport vehicles will not be allowed on the road.”
He says shipments of groceries have been split to lessen the burden on the road.
McKay adds residents with special health needs or who need some extra attention will head back tomorrow.
Meantime a family is still out of their house on the Montreal Lake Cree Nation due to excess groundwater.
Four other families on the reserve were let back into their homes yesterday.
The Prince Albert Grand Council helped the government inspect the homes to make sure they were safe to be in.
As for the Montreal River that flows through the La Ronge area.
McKay says they don’t expect it to rise to the same level of 2011, but they’ll be watching closely.