Overview

• Staged repatriation started July 29 for about 2,400 residents of Tataskweyak Cree Nation two months after their late May evacuation
• Roughly 700 evacuees in Beauval, Saskatchewan, are set to return home Wednesday under a state of emergency extended through August 6
• Community leaders warn that power outages and a nonfunctional water-treatment plant will force households to discard perishable foods upon return
• A July 4 blaze swept into Tataskweyak, destroying seven homes, while nearby wildfires covering roughly 250 km² and 280 km² remain uncontained
• Returnees are flying back in waves from Winnipeg, Niagara Falls and other host sites, with elders and families with young children scheduled to arrive in the final group