1 week after end of evacuation order, Yellowknife schools, hospital still getting back on track

It has been one week since the evacuation order for Yellowknife was lifted and residents were allowed back home, but schools and hospitals are still working on the return to normal.

Andrew Austin, a Grade 5 teacher at Range Lake North School, has been spending time re-arranging his classroom, organizing lessons and putting the final touches on decorations with his students' names on them.

He said starting the school year feels "really good."

"We're kind of getting back to normal."

Austin was one of several people CBC News spoke with during a behind-the-scenes look at the preparations for the return to school. CBC News was also given access inside Stanton Territorial Hospital in Yellowknife.

Jordan Martin, operations director for Yellowknife School District No. 1, said crews assessed schools and found there was no smoke damage from the wildfire. The fire, which is now being held, came within 15 kilometres of the city and is roughly 176,000 hectares in size.

However, air quality is top of mind as smoke from nearby wildfires lingers over the city.

Martin said the majority of classrooms have HEPA filters and work is underway to change filters as part of ongoing maintenance.

At Range Lake North School, crews are scrambling to finish laying down new flooring before doors open to 265 students on Thursday. That work was put on hold because of the evacuation. Approximately 20,000 residents in the city were ordered to leave the city by Aug. 18 as wildfire crept closer.

Flooring work at that school, which teaches students from junior kindergarten to Grade 8, along with deck repairs at École Sir John Franklin High School, should be complete by next week.

Meanwhile, staff at the school have been meeting, preparing their classrooms and working on lesson plans, but there is an awareness that mental health will be a priority.

"We're never had to evacuate Yellowknife before. So [we're] being really mindful that some of our families and some of our students are going to be quite stressed out and have been living without … the usual routines and so on that kids need," said principal Yasemin Heyck.

As such, no big festivities are being planned for the first day back.

"Big groups can be very overwhelming," Heyck said. "Right now, we're just focusing on really having a calm, relaxing start. Probably [during] the second week we'll have a welcome back celebration."