Winds turn grass fire deadly at Canadian military base
Amanda Stephenson |
A fire at an Alberta military base that has killed at least four people and seriously injured dozens started with a smoldering grass fire that was whipped into a wall of flames by high winds, Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper is reporting.
The fire then engulfed Canadian Armed Forces members at a firing range, the newspaper said, citing internal military communications.
The Canadian government on Sunday confirmed four deaths at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright but has not publicly commented on the cause of the fire, which took place at about 4pm on Saturday in a training area at the base as winds gusted up to 96km/h.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said the fire was one of the worst peacetime tragedies ever for Canada’s armed forces on home soil.
“The nation is in mourning for those brave members of our Armed Forces whom we have lost,” Carney said, adding he had ordered flags on federal buildings across the country to be lowered to half-mast to honour the victims.
CBC, the government-funded national broadcaster, previously reported seven deaths at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, citing unnamed sources.
Canadian authorities have said the situation continues to evolve and that they would not confirm casualty figures until next of kin have been notified.
Internal military communications indicate that the fire “very seriously” injured 31 people, the Globe and Mail reported.
CFB Wainwright had 1,310 military and civilian personnel stationed there as of 2021, according to census data.
The base, one of Canada’s largest, is about 210km east of Edmonton in Alberta. National Defence Minister David McGuinty said on Sunday he would go to the city for briefings on the situation.
The base houses the Canadian Manoeuvre Training Centre, which runs training scenarios and exercises for the army. Carney said those affected in Saturday’s fire came from military bases across the country.
Military and civilian firefighters fought the fire through the night in “some of the worst conditions imaginable,” Carney said.
Canadian officials are expected to address the public from Wainwright, which is located in a largely rural area, later on Sunday afternoon.
Air ambulances from Edmonton and Saskatoon, which is about 300km from Wainwright, flew to the military base on Saturday, Carney said. Patients are being treated in Edmonton, Wainwright, Calgary and Red Deer, he said.
Reuters