Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says “serious incident” at Alberta military base caused major fire; deaths and injuries confirmed

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said a “serious incident” at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta caused a major fire on Saturday, with Canada’s defense minister later confirming that people had been killed and injured.

“A serious incident creating a major fire has occurred at CFB Wainwright, in Alberta,” Carney wrote on X on October 17. He said the federal government was working closely with Alberta and local authorities and that he was in direct contact with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.

Defense Minister David McGuinty later confirmed “both fatalities and injuries” from the incident but did not provide casualty numbers or say what caused it. He described the situation as active and said the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were involved in the investigation.

The fire crossed the perimeter of CFB Wainwright and spread into surrounding areas as strong winds complicated firefighting efforts. Local authorities said no evacuation order had been issued and asked residents to stay away from the area to keep roads clear for emergency crews.

CFB Wainwright, about 180 kilometers southeast of Edmonton, is one of the Canadian Army’s busiest training bases and hosts the Canadian Manoeuvre Training Centre and the 3rd Canadian Division Training Centre.