JENNIFER GAUTHIER / REUTERS
A sign for Canadian Forces Base Wainwright is seen today, after a major fire Saturday caused multiple deaths and injuries in Wainwright, Alberta, Canada.
CALGARY, Canada >> The Canadian government said today that a weekend fire at an Alberta military base killed at least four people and seriously injured dozens in what Prime Minister Mark Carney called 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 that he had ordered flags on federal buildings across the country to be lowered to half-staff to honor the victims.
CBC, the government-funded national broadcaster, reported seven deaths at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, citing unnamed sources. Canadian authorities have said the situation continues to evolve, and that they will not confirm casualty figures until next of kin have been notified.
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 130 miles east of Edmonton in Alberta. National Defense Minister David McGuinty said today he would go to the city for briefings on the situation.
The base houses the Canadian Maneuver Training Center, which runs training scenarios and exercises for the army. Carney said those affected in Saturday’s fire came from military bases across the country.
Few details have been released about the cause of the fire, which took place Saturday afternoon in a training area at the base as winds gusted up to 60 mph.
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Military and civilian firefighters fought the fire through the night in “some of the worst conditions imaginable,” Carney said.
Air ambulances from Edmonton and Saskatoon flew to the military base on Saturday, Carney said. Patients are being treated in Edmonton, Wainwright, Calgary and Red Deer, he said.
Health staff in Edmonton said a “code orange,” or mass-casualty event, was declared to coordinate the medical response for patients being transported from Wainwright, CBC News reported.
The town of Wainwright, with a population of about 6,600, is just north of the base.
The municipality posted on social media that the fire had crossed the base fence into the nearby district but no evacuation orders had been issued. It said today that the fire is not expected to spread beyond its current boundaries.