Flames that killed four Canadian soldiers and left 19 people in critical condition began with a smouldering grass fire that quickly grew in an Alberta base’s training area where personnel were carrying out exercises, officials said on Sunday.
Officials said 39 people were in hospitals as a result of the fire at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, which Prime Minister Mark Carney described as one of the worst peacetime tragedies for Canada’s military on home soil.Winds up to 96 kilometres (60 miles) per hour fed the blaze, which began around 4 p.m. MDT (2200 GMT) on Saturday. But they were below 50 km per hour leading up to the fire, Major General Wade Rutland told reporters at a news conference.
He described the sudden high winds and resulting spread of the fire as an “uncommon, rapid” event in which the flames advanced 1 km in 30 to 60 seconds.
“I’ve certainly never seen anything like it,” said Rutland, commander of 1st Canadian Division, which is based in Edmonton, about 210 km west of the military site.
Officials identified the dead as Sergeant Morgan Wong, Private Shaun Farrell, Private Aidan Goulding and Private Hayden Lykkemark.
“The nation is in mourning for those brave members of our Armed Forces whom we have lost,” Carney said Sunday, adding that he had ordered flags on federal buildings across the country to be lowered to half-staff to honour the victims.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said many of the injured will require “weeks and months” of specialised, intensive medical care.
When the fire began, Rutland said, 85 soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, were in “high-intensity” combat training using live munitions at the base, which is located in a prairie setting. The soldiers were preparing for deployment to Latvia, where Canadian forces currently have their largest international military operation.
