A wildfire near Fort McMurray, Alta. that prompted a local state of emergency has moved away from homes, prompting the mandatory evacuation order for the Prairie Creek neighbourhoods to be lifted.

About 500 people have been allowed to go back to their residences but are encouraged to take shelter and be ready to leave again if necessary, according to Fort McMurray Mayor Melissa Blake. The evacuation order for Centennial trailer park remains in place, keeping about 200 people out of their homes.

According to officials, aircraft and ground crews are continuing to contain the flames, now burning about 1.5 kilometres south of the neighbourhoods under evacuation order. Blake said the wildfire could change direction again if the wind changes, but the situation is good for now.

“People, I’m asking for your appreciation of the danger and hazards that exist and to respect any sensible means, so please don’t light your backyard fires this week, you can see how dry the conditions are,” Blake said.

Blake declared a localized state of emergency on Sunday night, as police went door-to-door asking residents to leave their homes and relocate to an evacuation centre.

Paul King, a Fort McMurray resident, had less than an hour to leave his house and is unsure of when he’ll be able to get back.

“It was a lot of smoke and you could feel the heat and ashes were falling down around the house,” said King.

Darby Allen, regional fire chief for the Wood Buffalo municipality, said that no structures have been lost and there have been no injuries, however he warned residents to continue to stay away from the fires.

“Today, we had a report from one of the water bombers that was flying over that there was a Jeep right alongside where the fire was burning,” said Allen, “We can’t carry on dumping water when we know people are down there because that’s dangerous from that height.”

Environment Canada has warned that hot and dry conditions are forecast throughout the week.

Approximately 50 firefighters from the Municipality of Wood Buffalo are tackling the uncontrolled fire, with the province sending more to the area to help as well as a heavy helicopter that can dump large volumes of water.

Both the Slave Lake and Whitecourt regions northwest of Edmonton are also reporting extreme wildfire hazards.

With files from CTV Edmonton and The Canadian Press