More than three weeks after everyone in Jasper had to flee raging wildfires through a curtain of darkness and smoke, some returned Friday morning, greeted by soot-covered tree stumps, Mounties, and long lines of orange traffic cones.

“Welcome Back” was written on a banner at the RCMP checkpoint into the Rocky Mountain tourist town.

Residents came in a sporadic line of cars, trucks and recreational vehicles. One pickup had a refrigerator in its bed. They moved along the main highway through Jasper National Park to the point where it branches off to the east side of the town.