An internal Canadian Armed Forces memo says the fire index was low for a scheduled live-ammunition training exercise Saturday at a base near Wainwright, Alberta, when an “unexpected and sudden wind change” sparked a runaway grass fire that killed four soldiers and seriously injured dozens more.
“During training, a grass fire ignited, and strong winds caused the fire to spread rapidly and shift direction; the fire shifted toward the personnel on the range and overtook their admin area,” the memo states.
Earlier on Saturday, Environment Canada had issued a high-wind warning for Alberta. Gusts of up to 100 km/h in some parts of the province tipped over semi-trailer trucks and toppled trees.
Issued Sunday by the Strategic Joint Staff (SJS) and obtained by Global News, the memo also said flames jumped a fire guard and spread outside the base, forcing the evacuation of one family home. The fire has been contained but is still burning.
The cause of the blaze remains unknown.
The SJS directly reports to the chief of defence staff, Canada’s highest-ranking military officer.
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The staff memo specifies that the dead and injured are from C or Charlie Company, Third Battalion of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, which is based at Edmonton Garrison.
Four soldiers were killed, another 31 suffered “very serious or serious” injuries, and six to eight others had minor injuries, it said.
Fifteen soldiers were intubated and sent to the University of Alberta and Royal Alexandra hospitals in Edmonton.
The memo cautioned that the situation was “fluid” and “these casualty reporting numbers are considered accurate but may change over time with ongoing assessments of casualty status.”
At a news conference Sunday afternoon, Maj.-Gen. Wade Rutland identified the four deceased as Sgt. Morgan Wong of Edmonton, and Privates Shaun Farrell of Prince Albert, Sask., Aidan Goulding of North Vancouver, B.C., and Hayden Lykkemark of Langley, B.C.
Their families have been notified.
Rutland said the training was to prepare the soldiers for a global response task force “ready to move within hours to any hotspot around the world,” and for deployment to Latvia in April and May to bolster the brigade there.
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“This was high-intensity combat training with live munitions.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney told a news conference it was one of the worst tragedies on Canadian soil in peacetime.
“The nation is in mourning for those brave members of our armed forces who we have lost,” Carney said, adding that, to honour them, flags on all federal buildings will be flown at half-mast.
The Royal Canadian Air Force dispatched seven Griffon helicopters from Edmonton, and one Hercules aircraft from Winnipeg.
Ten search-and-rescue technicians parachuted from the Hercules onto a field in Wainwright, a town of about 6,500 people, about 200 km east of Edmonton, near the Saskatchewan border.
The non-profit charity, STARS, or Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service, dispatched air ambulances from Edmonton and Saskatoon, and nearby towns sent ground ambulances to assist in the transfer of the injured.
Investigators with the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service are en route to Wainwright, and the RCMP have offered investigative support, the memo states, adding that the process of casualty confirmation and next-of-kin notification has begun.
Very sorry to hear about the deaths and injuries. Condolences to the families.
I believe that part of any military training is how to do the ‘big skedaddle’, perform a bug out, run like rabbits, or more technically perform a lateral maneuver when they are about to be over run. I guess they had not covered that part of the training yet.
CAF will cover up anything that makes the CAF look bad, so yeah, likely the winds fault.
Interesting that we can pinpoint where a forest fire starts using satellite imagery, but on a military base we have nothing?…..
Your telling me that in an age where everything, everyone can be tracked and monitored by one means or another, the military doesn’t have a definite answer on its own base?
Our soldiers, our defenders have died, and many more are seriously injured…..
If this is the result of incompetence or poor safety standards we demand concrete answers!
And as far as you morons claiming separatists or “American assets” involvement, you say they are the conspiracy theorists, geez, grow up….
@143am, perhaps you did it you DUMB LIBERAL IDIOT!
The military decision to monitor the grass fire was reactive instead of proactively putting it out just like the reactive responses of the Alberta government.
Would be wise to investigate the causes of the fire. Sabotage? Attack on the Armed Forces by separatist or American assets? Worth looking at every possible scenario given the situation in Alberta.
My thoughts are with the extra large cucumber in my anus
@ben 825pm. You and carney are hiding a massive liberal cover up.
The original explosion caused the base fire , the wind just spread it. The wind isn’t the cause of the fire. Carney trying to cover this up and blaming Mother Nature/ climate change.
There was no “sudden wind shift”. It was known many hours before there was going to be a windstorm in central and southern Alberta.
Insufferable ben shut up!
My thoughts are with all those affected by this.