After tourists and residents alike were forced to flee the historic community of Barkerville in B.C.'s Interior 12 days ago, the town reopened Friday, August 2nd.

Officials ordered the evacuation of the area on July 21 as the Antler Creek wildfire drew near. The order included Bowron Lake, the community of Wells and the historic town of Barkerville — described on its website as the largest living history museum in western North America.

Before the evacuation order became official, Stewart Cawood said people in the town watched as plumes of smoke billowed above nearby Proserpine Mountain. 

"It definitely sunk all our hearts," Cawood told CBC's Daybreak North host Carolina de Ryk. 

"We started taking preemptive action and getting the fire crews in from nearby Wells to help us get the hoses deployed so that the buildings were protected."

Read the full article from CBC here.