Slave Lake residents had an emotional day Friday, returning to their homes for the first time after fire ripped through the community of 7,000 nearly two weeks ago.

"My home was OK but that's my best friend's house over there," Sherry Halbert said, after looking at the rubble through a chain link fence.

"You think you're ready for it and you're not, and it just seems so unfair that so many of us are coming back to homes and so many aren't."

Normand James also had a house to come back to but he, too, felt ambivalent about his good fortune amid all the destruction.

"I'm still trying to grasp the idea that my property is still standing and almost everything else around me is gone," he said.

From his deck, James can see the burned-out rubble of his neighbour's house, a stark contrast from what he saw before the fire.

"It was green, absolutely beautiful. The trees were just starting to come alive," he said. "My neighbours were on their decks. A lot of kids were running around having fun. It was the start of what we expected to be another beautiful summer in Slave Lake."

Earlier in the day, the first wave of people whose homes survived the May 15 blaze started lining up at a checkpoint just outside the town, awaiting the go-ahead to return.

Dawn Crawford and her family slept in their vehicle overnight to make sure they would be at the front of the line at 8 a.m. Friday.

"We're going to get the houses clean and make sure there's no smoke damage and everything else and just get everything back to normal," Crawford said.

"I'm kind of nervous in a way to see the town but kind of excited in the same way."

Residents returned in stages

About 7,000 people were forced from their homes as a wildfire consumed a third of the town

Crews worked for days afterward, putting out hot spots and trying to restore power and water. Many residents stayed with relatives; others stayed in evacuation centres in Edmonton, Westlock and Athabasca.

Returning Slave Lake residents were greeted by RCMP officers at checkpoints Friday. The officers were distributing information packages to help residents settle back into their homes. CBCRCMP officers gave residents returning home an information package with telephone numbers and advice on how to clean their properties.

"All the pieces of life were thrown up in the air," said Heather Moorehouse. "We were waiting for them to land and see where the pieces fell. But now that we know we're going home we can get a sense of reality back again. It's a good feeling."

As Ken Burlak was driving in, he expressed his continued frustration with the way this emergency unfolded.

"It would be nice to see the mayor come out and say she should've evacuated and been more prepared," said Burlak.

"I saw the firefighters prepare and saw the fire come into town. At that point, there should've been an evacuation. That's my main frustration about the event. I'm happy that they've got the crews in there getting everyone back home, but a little more honesty about the whole situation would've been nice."

Normand James looks at the burned rubble of his neighbour's home while standing on his deck. His house survived the fire. CBCThe re-entry was conducted in stages according to where people live.

Those from the Sawridge First Nation, the Municipal District of Lesser Slave River and the section of Slave Lake north of the CN Rail tracks began the return early Friday. Others were waiting until Friday afternoon.

Residents have been asked to place signs in their windows to indicate to utility crews what services are needed.

Town officials are asking people whose homes were destroyed to contact them because they are working on finding temporary housing.

On Friday, the Alberta government announced that it would pay the 2011 property taxes for people who lost their homes.

With files from the CBC's Briar Stewart and Tim Adams