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N.D. (AP) – Residents of a northeastern North Dakota city who evacuated their homes Tuesday because flooding threatened a nearby dam are going home.

Most of Cavalier’s 1,300 residents were allowed back early Friday with the understanding they might have to leave again if conditions take a turn for the worse. The water behind Renwick Dam on the Tongue River has been dropping, and the threat from recent heavy rainfall is easing. 

Mayor Kenneth Briese (BREE’-zee) says the community “didn’t dodge a bullet. … (but) an artillery shell.”

The lifting of the evacuation order doesn’t apply to hospital patients and residents of a nursing home and assisted living facility in Cavalier. It might be another week to 10 days before the dam situation returns to normal and they’re allowed back home.