Return begins for those who fled the Kátł'odeeche First Nation 3 weeks ago

People who live at the Kátł'odeeche First Nation in the N.W.T. are beginning to return home, more than three weeks after an evacuation because of wildfire.

"There's going to be a lot of mixed emotions. There's going to be ups and downs, crying, anger. You know, all of that today and for the next couple of days," said April Martel, chief of the First Nation, on Tuesday afternoon.

"When I walked in my first time and I was just devastated."

The fire led to evacuation orders for the Town of Hay River and the Kátł'odeeche First Nation (KFN) reserve on May 14. Hay River residents were allowed to start returning to their unscathed community a couple of weeks ago, but the roughly 300 Kátł'odeeche members who live on the reserve were still waiting.

Martel said power was set to be restored to most of the community on Tuesday afternoon, though some areas such as Beaver Road and Martin Road would likely remain without power for a bit longer. 

Overall, though, Martel said things were "somewhat good" — though she acknowledged there was still a lot of work to do to clean things up and ensure people have what they need.

For example, the First Nation has ordered  fridges and freezers to replace any that were lost or damaged. KFN will also give members money to do laundry or stock up on some staple groceries for their homes. 

Meals will be provided at the local wellness centre "until things get back to normal," she said.

Martel also said there will be help for people who lost their homes to the fire. KFN has secured some federal housing for the short term, and plans to order prefabricated homes for the longer term. Martel was in Ottawa on Tuesday, talking with federal officials about funding.

"We want the membership to pick their own homes. So you go online and you could check out all the houses, they'll pick their own house. We'll even allow them to go to like, Edmonton or wherever to view their own home," Martle said.

"That's what we want for our members. They've lost so much." 

Ryan Mckay spoke to CBC News from the community Tuesday afternoon, a few hours after he learned that people would finally be allowed to go back. 

"We were fortunate enough to keep our house," Mckay said. "We were expecting to have smoke damage and stuff like that,

"My truck, which I had parked not too far from the house, is pretty well the only thing that's gone."

Mckay lives near the entrance to the reserve and said he found his house undamaged, but he also noticed he can now see across the reserve in a way that wasn't possible before.  

"Happy to see the house in one piece, that's the main thing," he said. "You know, we still have a place to go to."

"My neighbours are not so lucky. A lot of damage."

'Not a good sight for me'

In the early days of the fire, officials with the territorial government said 15 buildings on the reserve had been damaged. Martel later said 18 families had lost their homes and that five major buildings had been damaged — including the Judith Fabian Group Home. She also said the band office was completely destroyed.

Roy Fabian also spoke to CBC from the community. He had been staying at the Ptarmigan Inn in Hay River waiting to return. 

"It's not a good sight for me," he said. "I got neighbours' houses that burned down. It's kind of hard to take." 

Fabian says the evacuation was emotional. At one point, he was told that his house had burned down, only to be told the next day that his house had survived the fire. 

Fabian says he's sad for those who lost homes in the fire, but encouraged by the resilience he's seen so far. 

"No matter how difficult this thing was, they kept up good spirits ... and wherever they gathered, you heard people just encouraging one another."

Georgina Fabian, another KFN resident, said on Tuesday that the news of the return came as a surprise.

She said her own home was spared by the fire. During the evacuation, she's been staying at her daughter's place in Yellowknife. She's not sure she's ready to go back home, because she believes it's still not safe.

"We don't have any power on the reserve, and yet they're telling people to go home. And some people have lost their houses," Georgina Fabian said.

School for KFN students resumed Monday in the community hall at the Hay River Recreation Centre, according to a Facebook post from the South Slave Divisional Education Council.

According to N.W.T. wildfire officials, the fire near KFN was classified as "being held," since last week.