Two questions are on the minds of the nearly 37,000 Interior residents who spent the night in a trailer, unfamiliar hotel room, or a cot in a gym: when they’ll be allowed back in their communities and exactly what they’ll be going back to.

Fire crews continue fighting the roughly 160 fires, but the B.C. Wildfire Service said those answers will rely on the forecasted weather and fire activity in the region.

For Williams Lake residents who were lining up to register for Emergency Social Service funds a mere 24 hours ago, it’s a waiting game that some suspect will last weeks.