La Loche residents forced to evacuate their homes and community due to the wildfires, started to return Friday after the Northern Village council terminated the declaration of local emergency Friday morning.

A news release from the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) said the declaration brought the number of communities under an evacuation order in the province down to 12 from 13. The communities affected include Clearwater River Dene Nation; Resort Subdivision of Lac La Plonge; La Plonge Reserve; Northern Hamlet of Jans Bay; Resort Subdivision of Ramsey Bay; Patuanak/English River First Nation; Northern Village of Pinehouse; Canoe Lake Cree First Nation/Canoe Narrows; Resort Subdivision of Little Amyot Lake, as well as priority individuals from the Northern Village of Beauval; Northern Hamlet of Cole Bay; and Île-à-la-Crosse.

As 4:30 a.m. Saturday there are now 87 wildfires burning and of those, 13 are considered not contained. To date this year, there have been 460 wildfires, compared with 455 at the same time last year and well above the five-year average of 360.