WAINWRIGHT, Alberta — Canada’s defence minister said late on Saturday that people had died and others were hurt in an incident at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, then declined to say how many, or what had happened. “I’m saddened to share that there have been both fatalities and injuries as a result of an incident on the base,” David McGuinty told a late-night news conference in Ottawa, according to CTV News.
He called it a “very active and delicate situation” and said the Canadian Armed Forces, the Department of National Defence and other federal agencies were “working through the details of what actually occurred.” Asked about similar incidents, McGuinty said, “I cannot recall an incident like this in recent memory.” Wainwright RCMP said early reports were of “a fire at a training area” and that its initial involvement was winding down.
Officials have so far used the language of fire. Prime Minister Mark Carney wrote that “a serious incident creating a major fire has occurred at CFB Wainwright,” and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith called it a “significant and tragic” fire affecting military personnel. CTV News, though, reported an explosion and fire. McGuinty gave no figure for the dead and no account of what happened.
Wind made the night harder. Gusts of up to 100 kilometres an hour hit parts of the province on Saturday, officials said the fire crossed the base fence earlier in the day, and an active fire was still burning south of Township Road 44-0. The Municipal District of Wainwright reported no evacuation order for residents on Saturday evening. STARS Air Ambulance sent two aircraft, from Saskatoon and Edmonton, and Acute Care Alberta said emergency health services were on scene, CTV News reported.
The base, about 200 kilometres from Edmonton, is one of Canada’s busiest military training bases. It is home to the Canadian Manoeuvre Training Centre, which prepares units to operate together in realistic battlefield conditions, and the 3rd Canadian Division Training Centre, which provides basic infantry training. Canadian lawmaker Dane Lloyd had said earlier that he had heard of “significant casualties,” Anadolu Agency reported.
The fire reached the ballot box as well. Elections Alberta said it was informed of the fire and shut the Wainwright Communiplex advance polling place, directing voters to the Border Inn in Lloydminster or the Vermilion Elks Hall.
Albertans vote Monday on the Alberta referendum questions, ten in all. What nobody in authority has yet said is how many people died at Wainwright, whether all of them were serving members, or what caused the fire. McGuinty’s one promise was “more to say in the coming hours and days.”
