Notley praises 'patient, resilient, determined and graceful' Fort McMurray residents ahead of re-entry

Premier RachelNotleycommended Fort McMurray's 90,000residents for the way they have handled the evacuation of their city but warned that challenges willstill remain as they begin a phased re-entry on Wednesday.

"The people of Fort McMurray have been profoundly patient, resilient, determined and graceful under tremendous pressure," Notley told reporters Tuesday afternoon,after speaking to theAlberta Fire Chiefs Association at an eventjust outside of Calgary.

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The re-entry plan is on scheduleand Fort McMurray residents will be allowed to start returning via Highway 63 at 8 a.m. MT on Wednesday.

"When they return and over the course of the next few weeks, they need to anticipate that people are going to react to the stress a little bit differently," Notley said.

"They need to give each other room to react to it differently, but remain focused on that overriding goal of supporting each other and coming out of it stronger down the road."

TheRCMP plan to have 300 officers on patrol to ensure things go smoothly.

Those in the first wave of the phased re-entry are being advisedto ensure theyhave ample food, waterand fuel,as supplies in the region will be limited.

A boil-water advisory remains in effect, some health-care services will not be immediately available, and many businesses will not be open.

Notley said conditions will be assessed each day and, if the situation changes, the re-entry schedule may be adjusted, depending on the advice from experts.

"We are making the best decisions we can based on the advice and recommendations of officials, who are the experts in safety," she said.

The province is advising seniors, children under the age of sevenand other at-risk groups to be cautious when deciding when to return home. Anyone with a medical condition is asked to notreturn until the city's hospital is fully operational.

Hundreds of homes still uninhabitable,for now

More than 500 homesand a dozen apartment buildingsthat didn't burn have been declared uninhabitable due to toxic ash.

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Those homes are in thecommunities ofAbasand, Beacon Hill and Waterways, which remain off-limits for the time being.

Officials have said thosehomes could remain uninhabitable until September, but Notley saidthe restrictions may be lifted sooner than that,depending on how the clean-up goes.