The wildfire that raged in and around Canada's Fort McMurray over the last several weeks has finally been classified as being "held." This designation means that although the fire is not yet under control, it has stopped spreading, according to Lynn Daina, a wildfire information officer.

Over 80,000 residents of the northern Alberta city were evacuated because of the blaze, making it the largest such evacuation in the province's history. These residents began to move back into the area on June 1 after the Albertan government announced a re-entry plan, and are now welcoming the classification of the fire as being held as a sign of hope that they'll be able to rebuild their lives.

"It is a big deal. It is like the happy dance day," Daina told the Canadian Press.

The fire, which broke out on May 1 and spread to nearly 6,000 square kilometers at its peak, damaged or destroyed over 2,400 buildings in Fort Mac, the hub of Canada's oil sands in northern Alberta. In May, the credit rating agency DBRS estimated that insurance claims from the fire may be as high as $6 billion. If this estimate proves to be accurate, the wildfire will become the most expensive natural disaster in Canadian history, well above the $1.8 billion and $1.5 billion costs of the 2013 Alberta floods and 1998 Quebec ice storm respectively.

Canada received several offers of aid from other states over the last several weeks, and ended up accepting the help of US and South African firefighters, the latter of whom left last week in the midst of a pay dispute.

Over 2,000 people worked to stop the fire at its peak, according to Daina, and the recent success came as a result of their efforts as well as rain and high humidity in the area.

VICE News has been following the wildfires plaguing northern Alberta. Check out more of that coverage here.