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Residents of Bearskin Lake were flown to Thunder Bay on Nov. 14, 2019 because of flooding in their community (Tbnewswatch file)
THUNDER BAY — Two weeks after they were evacuated to Thunder Bay, residents of Bearskin Lake First Nation began to return to their home community on Friday.
Multiple flights are scheduled over a period of several days to transfer the over 150 residents who have been hosted in the city since Nov. 14.
A state of emergency was declared at Bearskin Lake, 600 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, on Nov. 10 after an ice jam developed on the Severn River, which spilled its banks and caused flooding in the community.
Conditions have now improved.
In a statement Friday, Thunder Bay Deputy Fire Chief Dave Paxton said Bearskin Lake's leadership has discussed the river situation with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry and determined that "the flow levels and ice conditions had returned to a level where they were comfortable with returning the community members home."
Paxton said work will continue, however, to repair roads and other infrastructure in the isolated First Nation.
The MNRF will also continue to monitor conditions on the river.
Bearskin Lake has a population of about 460.
Link to original article on tbnewswatch.com: Bearskin Lake evacuees heading back home