Life is slowly starting to return to normal for residents of Pikangikum First Nation.
Everyone is back home after being forced to flee a nearby forest fire.
The blaze was burning on land that is marked for expansion for the growing community.
Chief Amanda Sainnawap says if anything good can come from the terrible situation it might be that proposed expansion land regenerates from the ashes and provides a new future for their community.
She says the extra space is desperately needed as Pikangikum is experiencing an unprecedented population growth with over 200 births alone last year in a community of 4,400.
Sainnawap adds the high school, which only opened its doors in the fall of 2016, is at capacity this year and may have to start looking at portable classrooms in the near future to accommodate the growing youth population.
