Officials in Sturgeon County lifted a week-long evacuation order Tuesday that forced 22 families out of their homes after wildfires spread through the area northeast of Edmonton.

The fires are now contained and considered under control, allowing people return to their homes, county spokesperson Sheila McCaulay said.

"Their power and gas are set up again," she said. "The road closures do remain in effect, but they're open to emergency vehicles and the local residents so they're going to have their own identification to get in and out. And we're very happy that the residents are able to return home today."

The county is asking residents to go to the command post at Township Road 570 and Rural Road 224 to pick up an information package and get an escort back to their houses.

While three houses were lost in Sturgeon County, the news was better for Dean Hood and his family. The fire stopped just across the road from their farm.

"We're safe and that's number one and our animals have [been] saved and fortunately, the property and the buildings are standing, so it came up to the property line, but never did cross," he said. "Thanks to the efforts of the firefighters at the property line. They stood their ground."

While the fire is contained, Sturgeon County Fire Chief Bart Clark asked residents to beware of falling trees.

"We are asking to watch for trees that are weakened. Because of the fire, we've had a number of trees that are falling. We've cleared those away from the homes we know about, but there may be others," he said.

Crews will be on the ground for the next couple of weeks fighting the remainder of the fire. Clark called on residents to keep their eyes open for any areas that may flare up.

"We've instructed our residents that if they see flames in the green, which is the unburnt part of the area, they are to call 911 immediately and our fire attack teams will respond to that location," he said.

Firefighters have identified all the remaining hotspots using an infrared camera, Clark said.

A number of roads are still blocked in the area. Bans on fires and ATV use are still in effect in Sturgeon County.

Evacuation orders and states of local emergencies related to the wildfires were lifted in nearby Lamont and Strathcona counties late last week.