Some evacuated communities will have to undergo water testing before it’s safe for returning residents to drink the water.

Boil orders are put in place in any community that’s been evacuated due to forest fires.

Public Safety Minister John Haggie says water testing could take a week before those boil orders are removed.

“The water testing is done as a matter of routine after an evacuation. It’s part of the post-evacuation checks that are done in communities about power lines and these kind of things,” he said.

“Usually there’s a boil order and maybe even a non-consumption order until the results are back because some of those tests can take a week or two to come back.”