The wildfire that killed four Canadian soldiers at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta on Saturday started on the base's automatic grenade launcher range during routine training, Brigadier-General Vanessa Hanrahan, the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal and head of the military police, told reporters on Thursday.
Source: The Canadian Press via The Globe and Mail
Hanrahan said the fire initially stayed inside what is known as a “permanent danger area” of the range — ground that can be contaminated with unexploded munitions — which prevented firefighters from attacking it directly. It was monitored through the day by range control and the base fire hall, she said.
High winds from a forecast cold front then caused the fire to suddenly change direction and accelerate. Environment Canada confirmed a fast-moving cold front brought winds of 90 to 130 km/h across much of Alberta on Saturday; a yellow wind warning was issued for Wainwright at 2:14 p.m. local time, and the worst gusts, estimated at up to 105 km/h, hit the town just over an hour later. The fire spread to a different range area and overran soldiers' positions.
Source: The Canadian Press via EuropeSays
About 84 soldiers — Charlie Company of the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, including reserve members — were split between the grenade range and an area where they practised attacks on simulated enemy positions, the Associated Press reported. Four soldiers died and 39 were injured. Officials said on Thursday that 27 of the injured remained in hospital, 13 of them in critical condition.
Source: Associated Press
The military police investigation (about 30 investigators), a military board of inquiry, and Alberta's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner are all examining the fire. Hanrahan said there is so far no evidence of a criminal cause and no natural gas infrastructure was involved. The troops were training ahead of a planned deployment to Latvia, where Canada runs its largest overseas military operation.
Major-General Wade Rutland of the 1st Canadian Division said the military was committed to an “honest account” of what led to the fire. Hanrahan cautioned that the investigation is now expected to take longer than the roughly one month officials had earlier suggested. The deaths make the fire one of the worst peacetime tragedies in the Canadian military's history.
What is solid
- Fire began Saturday on the automatic grenade launcher (AGL) range at CFB Wainwright during routine training — Canadian Forces Provost Marshal, Thursday briefing
- Four soldiers killed; 39 injured; 27 still in hospital Thursday, 13 critical — officials via Canadian Press
- Fire was inside a permanent danger area, so it was monitored rather than fought directly at first — Provost Marshal
- Cold-front winds of 90–130 km/h crossed Alberta Saturday; Wainwright gusts estimated up to 105 km/h — Environment Canada
What is only claimed
- Whether live firing of explosive rounds specifically ignited the fire — Hanrahan did not say
- Exactly when, how and why the fire escaped the danger area — still under investigation by three separate inquiries