Four Canadian soldiers have died and 39 people were injured, 19 of them critically, after a fast-moving grass fire swept over troops carrying out live-fire combat exercises at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta. Prime Minister Mark Carney called it one of the worst peacetime tragedies for the Canadian military on home soil.
Major General Wade Rutland, commander of the 1st Canadian Division, which is based in Edmonton about 210 km west of the base, said officials had known about the fire for several hours. They believed it was under control and let training continue, but a sudden shift in wind direction drove the flames toward the soldiers.
What happened at the base
The blaze started at around 4 pm MDT (3.30 am IST) on Saturday and was fanned by winds of up to 96 km/h. Rutland told a news conference that wind speeds had stayed below 50 km/h before the fire broke out. He called the sudden surge in wind and the rapid spread of the flames “uncommon” and said the fire moved 1 km in just 30 to 60 seconds. He added that he had never seen anything like it.
At the time, 85 soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, were taking part in “high-intensity” combat training with live ammunition in the base’s prairie terrain. They were preparing to deploy to Latvia, where Canada is running its largest overseas military operation.
Rutland said the incident is under investigation and declined to speculate about how the fire began. Officials do not believe the region’s extensive oil and gas infrastructure played a part, and they have ruled out outside interference. Investigators will look at whether strong winds pushed the fire toward the troops or whether it spread unnoticed through the vegetation before suddenly reaching them. The fire got past established firebreaks before municipal firefighters helped bring it under control.
The dead have been named as Sergeant Morgan Wong and Privates Shaun Farrell, Aidan Goulding and Hayden Lykkemark.
According to 2021 census data, CFB Wainwright had 1,310 military and civilian personnel. It is home to the Canadian Manoeuvre Training Centre, which runs training exercises and combat simulations for the army.
Hospitals handle mass casualties
Alberta health officials said patients were taken from Wainwright to four hospitals: the University of Alberta Hospital and Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton, Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary, and Red Deer Regional Hospital. A “Code Orange” declared at several hospitals on Saturday night, to bring in extra staff and beds, has since been lifted. The response involved 22 ground ambulances, six aeroplanes and two helicopters, with help from neighbouring Saskatchewan.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said all patients had been accounted for and none were still waiting for transport. Wainwright mayor Bruce Pugh said the town’s small hospital was not equipped for an incident with so many casualties but commended local medical staff for their response.
