Residents of Hay River and Surrounding Communities Return After Month-Long Evacuation

Small spot fires continued to flare up alongside Northwest Territories highways leading into Hay River, Fort Smith and Yellowknife, on Sept. 15, 2023. The Canadian Press/Bill Braden

Jennifer Coleman has lived in and around Hay River in the Northwest Territories her whole life, but the highway into the community felt like a strange place as she and other wildfire evacuees were allowed to return there Saturday for the first time in over a month.

“It’s almost like muscle memory when you drive that highway, it’s almost like you shut your mind off and just drive, and you end up at home,” Coleman said in an interview Sunday.