Revised - The Old Crow evacuation order was rescinded Monday afternoon and flights back to the remote community began Tuesday.

“We are now just scaling back and starting to receive people back into the community (Tuesday),” Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation Chief Pauline Frost told the Star.

The Vuntut Gwitchin government made the decision to allow citizens to return on the recommendation of Yukon Wildland Fire Management, according to a statement by the First Nation.

Essential workers such as community nurses were the first to return on a flight Tuesday, while the remaining evacuees will be able to get on scheduled flights today.

Residents of Old Crow are re-turning two days after residents of Mayo were permitted to return home.

Wildland Fire has also rescinded evacuation alerts for the Dublin Gulch area, the Sixtymile area and the Silver Trail outside of Mayo, and it is now safe for workers to return to Victoria Gold Corp.’s Eagle mine.

Evacuation alerts will remain in place for the villages of Mayo and Old Crow.

An anticipated wind event associated with a cold front last weekend did hit Old Crow as expected, but did not blow any fires or embers into town, according to updates by the Vuntut Gwitchin government.

Frost said they had 70 km/h winds and thankfully, Wildland Fire crews were on scene to help keep the fires at bay.

A Wildland Fire helicopter was out bucketing the fires when the wind kicked up and helped to prevent them from advancing toward Old Crow.

Frost said the Wildland Fire presence really gave them a sense of comfort, and she was pretty impressed by the job they were doing.

“It was really amazing watching them in action,” Frost said.

Dense smoke that had hung over the village for two weeks has now subsided as well after Monday night’s rain. Frost said that at a meeting Tuesday morning, someone commented, “It’s so great to smell fresh air again.”

“The rain helped a lot,” Frost said.

Fire information officer Mike Fancie said the large fires near Old Crow didn’t pose a direct threat to the village, but Wildland Fire had been concerned about health impacts from heavy smoke and potential ember transfer with the high winds.

Reconnaissance flights over the fires continued Tuesday, with Frost saying they are now looking out for several summer homes and properties that may be threatened and need structure protection equipment like sprinklers to be put up.

While residents were away, Frost said, they have made sure to take care of homes and animals, and will be going around ensuring things like garbage are dealt with.

“People here have been doing a really great job of making sure houses are taken care of,” Frost said.

Most Old Crow residents evacuated to Whitehorse, though a few have stayed in Inuvik, N.W.T., Frost said.

In a situation report Monday, the Vuntut Gwitchin also said all evacuees were able to find a place to stay with family, friends, other First Nations or in hotels, and none had to sleep in the cots set up in the Canada Games Centre in Whitehorse.

About 60 people stayed behind in Old Crow, including government staff, RCMP and firefighting personnel.

The Vuntut Gwitchin expressed thanks in social media post for all of the help from people in Inuvik and Whitehorse.

Returning citizens will be permitted to bring up to 50 pounds of freight back with them.

With the remote nature of Old Crow, this allows people to bring supplies back with them from Whitehorse.

A posting from the Vuntut Gwitchin government also said perishable food items at the Co-op in Old Crow were limited until Tuesday due to food planes being unable to land in Old Crow while the evacuation order was in place.

At this point, there are a lot of firefighters in the Yukon from several provinces, but Fancie said they can’t send them out to help in B.C. or the Northwest Territories just yet.

“The problem with fires is that we don’t just see the risk abate and walk away,” he said.

If conditions continue to improve, Fancie said, they hoped to soon be in a position to send personnel to fight fires elsewhere.

Meanwhile, the Canada Games Centre remains available as an evacuation centre for those affected by wildfires, Mayor Laura Cabott said at Monday’s council meeting.

Cabott said she was happy to see that evacuated residents of Mayo were beginning to return home after the order was lifted last Sunday afternoon.

The mayor also acknowledged how communities in the N.W.T. continue to face the challenges of dealing with wildfires.

“On behalf of the City of Whitehorse, we are thinking of you, and we will support you in any way we can,” the mayor said.

The Canada Games Centre has been providing services, including meals, to evacuated community members.