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Although there has been information floating around the internet of a potential return home for residents of Williams Lake, Mayor Cobbs has issued a video statement on the City of Williams Lake Facebook that any news of residents being able to return are false.
The city is making preparations for a potential return in the near future, but a date has not been confirmed at this time.
The good news is that, for other communities, the return home for evacuees has been an overall success.
More and more evacuees have gotten the okay to return to their homes, including 100 Mile House, Princeton, Cache Creek, and the Okanagan Centre.
In 100 Mile House, residents are picking up their evacuee kits and returning to their homes and jobs. The Norbord OSB Mill has resumed operations after the evacuation order for the surrounding area was lifted.
David and Lori Trudeau, residents of 100 Mile House got to return to their residence after being away for two weeks.
David Trudeau, who works for Norbord, says that when he was driving through town on his way to work, there were, “more geese than people.”
According to David Trudeau, the town was overrun with geese when they first returned because there were no people around.
They also described the smell as something they’d never smelt before and, “It was like driving through a campfire.”
Their residence, located in the 108 Mile Ranch area just outside of the town, survived the fire, but they say returning homeowners have a lot of cleaning up to look forward to.
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