As N.W.T. evacuees return home, Calgary's municipal Emergency Plan ends

Calgary's Emergency Management Agency (CEMA) has deactivated its Municipal Emergency Plan, put in place last month to help those fleeing wildfires in the Northwest Territories.

The plan was enacted on Aug. 17to make accepting and accommodating displaced residents run smoothly. Since then, the city registered 3,900 evacuees and 223 pets from the N.W.T.

"We are pleased to report that most of the evacuees from the communities of Yellowknife, Ndil, Dettah and the Ingraham Trail who were staying here in Calgary have now safely returned home and no longer require our services,"Deputy Chief of CEMA Coby Duerr said in a statement on Monday.

"We know this has been a difficult time for evacuees and we hope they felt welcomed and supported while staying in Calgary."

Duerr also thanked the city's hotels which provided more than1,300 rooms for evacuee accommodation, and guided visitors on where to "do their laundry to how to catch a flight home, and everything in-between."

The City of Calgary's reception centre for N.W.T.evacueespermanently closed last night.

"Calgary continues to be a city that supports neighbours in need, and I am incredibly grateful to the hotels, transportation providers and businesses that hosted evacuees during a difficult time in their lives," said Mayor Gondekin the statement.