Residents in some parts of northern Alberta forced out by wildfires are now allowed to return home.
On Friday morning, the mandatory evacuation order for parts of Mackenzie County was lifted. This means all residents located west of Range Road 185, north and south of Highway 697 in the Blue Hills/Tompkins area can return home.
However, the area will remain on an eight-hour evacuation alert. The La Crete Ferry Campground will also remain closed until further notice.
The eight-hour evacuation alert also remains in place for High Level and the Dene Tha’ First Nation community of Bushe River. Parts of Mackenzie County directly north and south of High Level also remain under an eight-hour evacuation alert, along with a portion of the Blue Hills/Tompkins area.
The mandatory evacuation order in Paddle Prairie also remained in place on Friday.
Watch below: Ongoing Global News coverage of wildfires burning across Alberta
There are two active, out-of-control wildfires burning in the High Level forest area. The Chuckegg Creek fire south of High Level was nearly 276,000 hectares in size on Friday evening. The Jackpot Creek wildfire, located near Steen River, measured 28,100 hectares on Friday evening.
A fire ban and off-highway vehicle restriction remains in place. The fire danger in the area is still listed as extreme, and officials said significant rainfall is needed in order for the danger to be reduced.
A 12-hour evacuation alert in place for Slave lake was also lifted on Friday morning. Officials said rain in the last 48 hours helped ease the hazard on the south end of the McMillan fire, which is burning about 32 kilometres northeast of Slave Lake.
Mandatory evacuations remain in place for some areas of Mackenzie County, the Paddle Prairie Metis Settlement, parts of the Municipal District of Opportunity and the Peerless Trout First Nation.
As of 10:30 a.m. Friday, 18 wildfires were burning in Alberta, five of which were out of control.