Officials were aware of a fire at CFB Wainwright for several hours before it rapidly spread towards a training area where soldiers were taking part in exercises, killing four Canadian Armed Forces members and wounding dozens of others. Maj-Gen. L.W. Rutland told reporters during a briefing on Sunday afternoon that the fire broke out as soldiers were taking part in a training exercise ahead of deployment to Latvia. He said that multiple training activities were underway when a “grass fire ignited in the training area” at around 4 p.m. local time. Rutland noted that officials at the base were aware of the fire for several hours but “uncommonly strong winds” caused it to “spread rapidly” and shift direction towards an administrative area at the training range. “The fire was a kilometre away when the wind shifted. It is not normal for a fire to move a kilometre in 30 to 60 seconds,” he said. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says 39 people were hospitalized following the fire on Saturday and at least 19 of them are listed in critical condition. During the press conference on Sunday afternoon, Smith said that patients were transferred to four Alberta hospitals and all are now accounted for. Smith said that Code Orange protocols were put into place at the hospitals receiving patients but have since been lifted. A Code Orange is activated when a mass casualty event occurs and the health-care system is put under pressure due to a higher volume of patients. The Department of National Defence has said that there are no indications that the fire and explosion at CFB Wainwright was a terrorist attack. Rutland said that the Canadian Armed Forces will undertake a board of inquiry to examine the incident further. “I’ll be honest with you, with this amount of casualties and complexities, it’s not going to take a day or a week,” he told reporters. CFB Wainwright is located approximately 210 kilometres southeast of Edmonton. CTV News has multiple journalists on the ground at CFB Wainwright and in surrounding communities, reporting confirmed details and providing accurate, up-to-the-minute updates. Here’s everything that happened on Oct. 18, 2026:
