The situation in Happy Valley-Goose Bay is slowly returning to normal following a series of fires and explosions Friday night.

A fire in one abandoned building at the old Goose Bay airport spread to others that contained explosive materials, setting off a number of blasts.

That led to evacuation orders and a state of emergency, which was lifted this morning.

Mayor George Andrews made the pronouncement in a Meta/Facebook live video shortly before 9:30 a.m. local time.

“We’d like to advise impacted residents who were displaced that they are now permitted to return to their homes, but we implore the general public to remain away from the area as we have firefighters and other first responders at the scene,” he said.

“In the coming hours and days they will be there, so we just ask the public not to engage in any activity up around the Canadian side.”

Meanwhile, Andrews praised fire officials for the precautions taken before the explosions occurred. He noted a subsequent survey of the site turned up several pieces of twisted metal that ended up hundreds of feet away due to the force of the blasts.

“I want to make special mention to our fire chief, Brad Butler, and Serco Fire Chief Tom Anthony for their quick response and assessment, and for pulling back the crews last evening when the danger of explosions became very apparent,” he said.

“Their judgement and decisions were made in the interests of safety and were extremely well justified.”

Fire crews continue to monitor hot spots, but RCMP say there is no longer a risk of explosion.

Non-residents of several streets — including Halifax Street, Toronto Street, Winnipeg Street, Ottawa Avenue and London Street — are asked to remain away from the area as investigators also continue their work.

There were no injuries reported, and It’s not clear yet what sparked the fires.