Four soldiers killed as fast-moving fire sweeps Canadian military base

Four Canadian soldiers were killed and 39 people were hospitalized after a grass fire swept through a training area at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta on Saturday.

The dead were identified as Sgt. Morgan Wong and Privates Shaun Farrell, Aidan Goulding and Hayden Lykkemark. At least 19 of those hospitalized were in critical condition, the BBC reported.

Maj.-Gen. Wade Rutland, commander of the 1st Canadian Division, said strong winds shifted while members of the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry were conducting high-intensity combat training with live munitions. The fire, initially about one kilometre away, reached the soldiers within 30 to 60 seconds after the wind changed, he said.

The flames struck an administration area associated with a section-attack range. A nearby grenade range was not affected. Base personnel had been monitoring a fire for several hours before the sudden shift, and officials said weather conditions had been within established training protocols for most of the day.

The cause remains under investigation. Officials have ruled out terrorism and said they do not believe oil and gas infrastructure caused the blaze. Rutland said the military activities underway—including the use of grenades, grenade launchers and small-arms ammunition—were among multiple possible causes, but none had been established.

Prime Minister Mark Carney called the incident “one of the worst tragedies for the forces on Canadian soil in peacetime.”