As emergency services continue to clean up the thousands of litres of fuel spilled in an early morning truck accident, some residents of an Abbotsford, British Columbia neighbourhood are returning home.

Residents of approximately 100 homes were told they could return home around suppertime Wednesday, nearly twelve hours after as many as 2,000 residents had been ushered to safety.

The evacuation was prompted when the tanker truck overturned and spilled its load of fuel. City officials estimate as much as 22,500 litres of a gasoline-diesel mix was spilled.

Initially, fire and rescue personnel went door-to-door, instructing dozens of nearby residents to leave their homes.

When it became clear the fuel was gushing into storm sewers and then on to four area catch basins, they realized the spill posed a risk to homes and businesses within a one-square kilometre of the rollover.

As a result, three area schools were closed and approximately 1,000 area residents were moved to temporary shelter in a pair of churches. The balance of the evacuees are not expected to be allowed to return home until late Wednesday evening at the earliest.

Hydro and gas lines in the area were turned off, as emergency services struggle to reduce the risk of the spilled fuel sparking a contained explosion.

"It's a flammable liquid, it's extremely explosive,'' Charlene Jordan-Jones of the Abbotsford Fire Department said in a local TV news interview. "We want to make sure there are no ignition sources around.''

As officials did their best to minimize the risk to human life, a conservation officer with the provincial Environment Ministry said the spill had already taken a deadly toll.

Fuel from the spill has flowed into a nearby creek, killing an unknown number of the trout and salmon species that live there.

"We do have evidence now on hand of fish that have been killed as a result of the spill,'' conservation officer service manager Lance Sundquist told The Canadian Press, noting that local birds could also be affected.

The tanker truck flipped as it was attempting a left turn through an intersection during the morning rush hour Wednesday.

The driver was not injured in the rollover.