As the one-month anniversary of the devastating fire that ravaged the Canada Games Centre draws near, facility staff are getting ready to reopen the front doors.

"After countless hours of work by our staff and contractors, I'm pleased to say that a number of areas in the CGC will soon be used,” Mayor Bev Buckway said today.

On Monday, Whitehorse residents will be able to enjoy the children's play area, the main concourse area, PhysioPlus and the fitness class area.

They'll also be able to walk through the main entrance, rather than using the side door which has been used since the pool was reopened two weeks ago.

All of the fitness classes which have been held at the Takhini Arena will now be held at the CGC's wellness studio. However, the wellness centre, where all the cardio equipment and exercise machines are located, is not quite ready yet.

"We've got 50, 60 pieces of equipment that need to be cleaned,” indoors facilities manager Art Manhire said today.

"They're up on lifts right now.

"It's taken a little longer than anticipated. We're hoping to get them running by next week.”

The City of Whitehorse, along with property restoration company Belfor, has been taking a phased approach to the cleaning and repairs.

Manhire said they recently reached the fifth stage of their five-stage restoration plan.

"Thanks to an aggressive cleaning schedule that has included 10-hour shifts, seven days a week, the city has been able to restore a large number of services,” he said.

Manhire also said the preliminary report on the damage came back better than they expected, and there will actually be less reconstruction than they had originally feared. However, the price tag for the disaster still hovers around $5 million.

"This has been a very emotional experience for us, as well as the public” said Manhire. "This is a place that's part of a lot of people's day-to-day routine. And that's been disrupted. We've seen everything from overwhelming joy to anger.”

He said most people, though, are just relieved and grateful to have the CGC back.

Manhire said the Northwestel Arena will probably be open soon, and can be isolated from the adjacent Atco Ice, where the majority of the damage took place.

In preparation for the reopening, staff conducted air quality testing and sent it off for analysis. Both the medical officer of health and Environmental Health have signed off on the results, and have deemed the air quality safe for the public.

"Not only do we want to get this place up and running as soon as possible,” said Manhire, "we want to make sure we have a safe, clean environment as well.”

Manhire has contacted the concession stand staff, as well as the Subway sandwich shop, and said both are eager to return. He said he hopes they will be offering their services within the week.

As for when the entire centre will be returned to its original state, Manhire was hesitant to say.

"That's the big question,” he said. "We hope by the time we have user groups ready to book ice space, we'll be ready.

But we can't be sure at this point.”

The community has come together in a number of ways since the fire.

As was previously reported in the Star, the Yukon Amateur Hockey Association presented a $750 donation this week to replace one of the 140 speed skating mats which were damaged in the fire.

The speed skaters have seen a number of donations, and are working towards the final replacement cost of approximately $100,000.

Two teenaged girls, whose names cannot be published because they are minors, were charged with arson in connection with the fire and released into their parents' custody.