Canada’s Defence Minister David McGuinty confirmed Saturday that the incident at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright had resulted in fatalities and injuries, although authorities had not established the total number of casualties.
Emergency crews worked late into the night to contain the blaze, which spread rapidly under powerful winds affecting large parts of the province.
The incident also placed enormous pressure on nearby medical facilities, with reports indicating that large numbers of injured people were being transported to hospitals across Edmonton, approximately 180 kilometres, or 120 miles, northwest of the military base.
Dr. Warren Thirsk, an emergency department physician at Edmonton’s Royal Alexandra Hospital, told CBC News that health-care facilities closer to the base had become overwhelmed by the influx of patients.
“This number of patients would overwhelm the city of Edmonton,” Thirsk said.
“It is more patients than any of us want to count right now. It’s a disaster. It’s a one in every 15- to 25-year disaster,” he added.
The scale of the emergency prompted a coordinated medical response as hospitals prepared to receive additional casualties.
McGuinty described the situation as “very, very active and delicate,” emphasizing that investigators were still working to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident.
He confirmed that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were involved in the investigation and said officials expected to release further information as the situation developed.
According to the RCMP, officers were dispatched shortly after 4 p.m. Saturday following reports of a fire in a training area at the military installation.
Firefighters faced particularly challenging conditions as severe winds swept across Alberta, with gusts reaching up to 100 kilometres per hour.
The powerful winds knocked down trees, sent signs flying and pushed debris through streets, creating additional hazards for emergency responders.
At the military base, the gusts intensified the fire and carried flames into surrounding rural areas, complicating efforts to bring the blaze under control.
The nearby town of Wainwright, which has a population of approximately 7,000 residents, is among the communities closest to the affected military installation.
Authorities have not yet disclosed what caused the fire or provided a confirmed breakdown of the fatalities and injuries.
The investigation remains ongoing as emergency personnel continue responding to the incident and hospitals manage the influx of injured patients.
