Military officials say a fire burning in an area of a central New Brunswick army base near Fredericton is under control and isn’t a threat to public safety.
The Canadian Armed Forces said efforts were underway to put out the blaze in the northeastern part of the Canadian Forces Base Gagetown training area.
Capt. Robynn Still, a spokesperson for the base, said the wildfire was first reported shortly after noon on Wednesday. She added it was started by artillery shooting.
“As the fall of artillery shot is done under observation, the detection of this fire would have occurred very rapidly after its ignition,” Still said in a statement Thursday.
The fire burned through about 25 hectares of what Still described as “badlands” vegetation, made up of grass, bushes and trees. She added there was about 12 hectares of active fire remaining.
Col. Erik Esselaar, a commander at CFB Gagetown, said specialized wildland firefighters from the base were working to put the fire out.
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“Helicopter water-bucket operations are planned for this afternoon, and additional equipment is being sourced to support ongoing suppression efforts,” Esselaar said in a letter shared with media.
He noted that cool temperatures and light winds forecasted for the next 12 to 48 hours make for “favourable” weather conditions as fire response operations continue.
There were no injuries reported in connection with the fire, Esselaar wrote.
A notice posted by the base on social media late Wednesday warned that unauthorized entry onto the training area is prohibited and may pose significant safety risks.
“There is currently no threat to nearby communities,” the notice said.
“Residents may observe smoke in the area. The presence of smoke does not indicate a threat to surrounding communities.”
It said scheduled training activities in the area of the fire had been suspended as a precaution. It also said flying drones over the training area is prohibited.
The incident in New Brunswick came less than two weeks after a devastating grass fire at CFB Wainwright in Alberta that killed four soldiers and sent dozens more to hospital.
While the exact cause of that fire is unclear, the head of the military police said it was sparked during a routine training event at an anti-grenade launcher range on the grounds.
The military has said the fire took less than a minute to race about a kilometre, where a different training exercise was taking place on the base, located about 200 kilometres southeast of Edmonton.
Three different investigations into the CFB Wainwright tragedy are ongoing, military officials have said.
CFB Gagetown is roughly 27 kilometres southeast of Fredericton and is the second-largest military base in Canada.
In April 2005, three soldiers were injured after a military jeep overturned while pulling a trailer during a training exercise at the base.
— With files from Aaron Sousa and Fakiha Baig in Edmonton
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