Residents in Canadian fire-ravaged city likely to return home next month

The premier of Alberta province in west Canada, Rachel Notley, said on Wednesday that the residents of their fire-burned city of Fort McMurray can return home from early June if certain conditions are met.

The return will be conducted in a phased way from June 1 to June 15 on conditions that the wildfire is no longer an "imminent threat" to the community, critical infrastructure are prepared to provide "basic services", essential services including fire, police and health care are restored to a "basic level" and the air quality is acceptable.

Residents of Fort McMurray were forced to flee the city on May 3 in a mass evacuation as wild fires swept through the oilsands city, burning down more than one-tenth of its buildings.

The city remains under an evacuation order, where crews are working hard to secure infrastructure and clean the hospital. About 60 percent of the city's gas mains are now reactivated. Endi