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The massive operation to return residents to Fort McMurray is set to begin June 1, nearly a month after 88,000 people were forced to flee a wildfire still burning up much of northeastern Alberta.

Premier Rachel Notley outlined her government’s long-awaited re-entry plan Wednesday, saying residents will soon be allowed to return to their homes in a phased, multi-day process starting with the least damaged areas.

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However, she warned that residents will not be coming home to life as they left it. While essential food, power and urgent medical care will be available, other amenities such as clean drinking water and full hospital services will take longer to restore.

As well, the premier noted the entire plan is dependent on meeting several safety factors, including an end to the ongoing threat of the fire, reasonable air quality and functional traffic controls.

Photo by David Bloom / Postmedia

“We know people want to return home as soon as it is safe to do so, and that is what we are working towards,” Notley said Wednesday from the provincial operations centre in Edmonton. “We don’t want to have people completely commit to a certain date, but at the same time we’ve been hearing more and more that people need to have some idea of the dates we’re dealing with. We hope we’ve achieved that balance.”