Residents of Fort McMurray, Alta., forced to flee their homes earlier this week due to an encroaching wildfire got the green light to head home on Saturday when the municipality governing the oilsands hub lifted all evacuation orders.

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo in northeastern Alberta said weather conditions helped firefighters make progress in battling the blaze that triggered the evacuation of four neighbourhoods on the southern edge of the city — Abasand, Beacon Hill, Prairie Creek and Grayling Terrace.