Multiple people killed after major fire at CFB Wainwright in Alberta
www.theglobeandmail.com
Officials say blaze spread beyond military base’s training area; number of casualties has not been confirmed

Alternate sources:

Statement from Defence Minister David McGuinty via. CPAC: https://youtube.com/watch?v=2wGfoK3nqOs

Excerpts:

Acute Care Alberta says EMS are on the scene providing care and transport related to the emergency at the military base about 200 kilometres southeast of Edmonton.

He said Armed Forces members are at the scene and that RCMP are also involved.

David McGuinty, speaking to reporters late Saturday in Ottawa, said he had no other details to share, including the number of casualties or what happened.

As McGuinty delivered the news, fire crews in Alberta were battling a blaze raging between the base and the nearby town of Wainwright.

Asked if the town was threatened by the fire, McGuinty said he understands people there are actually helping the base with the injured and the fire.

Firefighters are facing a volatile situation. Large areas of the province were hit during the day by a windstorm with gusts up to 100 kilometres an hour. The wind toppled some trees, sent signs flying and garbage cans rolling down streets.

CFB Wainwright is a massive military training base located 200 kilometres from Edmonton. It’s one Canada’s busiest and is used mainly to train soldiers and prepare units for combat operations.

It’s also the site of the Canadian Manoeuvre Training Centre, which prepares military units to operate together in realistic battlefield conditions, as well as the 3rd Canadian Division Training Centre, which provides basic infantry training.

      • ArmchairAce1944@lemmy.ca
        2·
        2 days ago

        There’s a reason why entire groups calling out ‘fire in the hole’ multiple times before setting off explosions is done. They need to warn anyone who might be nearby.

    • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org
      3·
      2 days ago

      It feels like a bit of an oversight to not have all of those sandbagged right up. Unless, I guess, it was something ground penetrating.

      • Voroxpete@sh.itjust.works
        3·
        2 days ago

        Remember, in CAF parlance, “live fire” includes artillery, missiles, and 2000lb bombs. Sandbags aren’t gonna do much against those.

        Edit to add: Which isn’t really the point, because you don’t put live fire within kilometers of anything like that on purpose. This was either a major fuck up or - more likely - something that wasn’t known about, like a naturally occurring gas pocket that was ignited by an explosive round.

        I’m going to “suggest” that the latter is far, far more likely to have been the case in this particular instance.

        Edit 2: We have the full story now. No gas, no infrastructure. It was literally just a grass fire. These happen all the time on training grounds. Live munitions start fires very easily, especially tracer rounds. The difference was the 100km/h wind gusts which whipped up the fire and caused it to move extremely quickly, much faster than normal safety protocols anticipate.

        • kent_eh@lemmy.caEnglish
          2·
          2 days ago

          more likely - something that wasn’t known about, like a naturally occurring gas pocket

          Agreed.

          The range will have been in use for decades. Anything knowable about the area will have been known for a very long time. This was likely something that nobody knew about.

        • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org
          21·
          2 days ago

          Yeah, all correct. If sandbags wouldn’t work for what you’re firing, don’t do that there. Somehow, it happened, though. According to Global, anyway.

          I’d be surprised if, just, casual pockets of natural gas still exist near the surface, like that. Those are the first places wells get put in, historically, and a lot of wells are over a kilometer deep now.

          • Voroxpete@sh.itjust.works
            1·
            2 days ago

            Except no one is putting wells down in the middle of a 600km^2 army training area.

            Like, that’s something I really need to stress here. CFB Wainwright is absolutely massive. None of this was taking place anywhere near established oil and gas infrastructure.

  • ValueSubtracted@startrek.websiteEnglish
    6·
    2 days ago

    Seven dead as of current reporting, with an unknown number of injuries.

    Let’s hope those numbers don’t grow too much.

    Edit: Revised down to four (for now), which was a nice adjustment to see.

  • GrackleBirb@lemmy.caEnglish
    6·
    2 days ago

    Awful news.

    I feel like they could have chosen a more appropriate pic for the thumbnail on this one.

    Temu Wolverine and Smiling Devil Lady don’t really convey the gravity of the event.

    • Otter@lemmy.caOPM
      5·
      2 days ago

      I’m able to swap it, I switched it to the image with the ambulances. Open to suggestions

      • GrackleBirb@lemmy.caEnglish
        4·
        2 days ago

        CBC had the same one I figured everyone was using it - there must not be many other pics yet (which would make sense…)

    • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org
      11·
      2 days ago

      I would guess it has a significantly better track record than gasoline. Probably better than electricity, too - that stuff is invisible death.

      Not green, sure. Probably dangerous in a target range, sure.