‘Devastating’: Community in Mourning After Deadly Incident at Wainwright Military Base

WAINWRIGHT, Alta.—The small town of Wainwright, Alta., is in shock and grieving in the wake of the deadly fire over the weekend at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Wainwright.

Almost all the residents in the tight-knit community 200 kilometres southeast of Edmonton know someone on the base or have family or loved ones there, making the tragedy all the more personal.

“It’s very devastating for our family,” Wainwright resident Elaine Hills told The Epoch Times a day after the Oct. 17 tragedy, noting that her family interacts with members of the base on a daily basis.

Flags fly at half mast in Wainwright, Alta., near Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Wainwright on Oct. 18, 2026. Paul Rowan Brian/The Epoch Times

She said her daughter works at the local hospital where victims were transported following the incident, which left four Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members dead and 39 others injured. Hills works at a local department store herself and said the military members who regularly visit the store have looked crestfallen since the tragedy.

“A lot of the young troops are coming in with their heads down and ‘just let us be,’” she said. “They don’t want to talk.”

The CAF say a fire erupted in a training area on the base at approximately 4 p.m. on Oct. 17 and spread rapidly due to unexpected fast-moving winds. They say investigation is ongoing to determine the cause of the fire, as well as whether the tragedy could have been prevented.

The town of Wainwright has been helping with the response to the incident by providing fire crews and taking in some of the injured at its hospital. The town described the incident as a “frightening and difficult time for many families, neighbours, and first responders.”

Wainwright resident Bonnie Sheridan said the mood in town is sombre and she doesn’t know how the community will recover in the coming months.

“It’s terrible,” she told The Epoch Times. “Just shocking. I don’t think anybody really expected it to happen.”

Glenn Cunningham, who works both on and off the base, said residents are accustomed to hearing explosions and gunfire from training exercises taking place at CFB Wainwright, but added that it became clear on Oct. 17 that something was different “when all the sirens started happening.”

“It’s a sad day,” he said.

A sign for the CFB Wainwright near Wainwright, Alta., on Oct. 18, 2026. Paul Rowan Brian/The Epoch Times

Cody Lovely said he has family members and friends in the military, and noted that accidents do sometimes occur.

“This is a profoundly difficult moment for the entire Canadian Armed Forces,” she said in an Oct. 18 statement. “Our immediate focus remains on supporting those affected, assisting emergency response efforts, and ensuring the well-being of our members, their families, and the surrounding community.”

Minister of National Defence David McGuinty previously said he doesn’t recall a tragedy of similar magnitude in “recent memory.”

“I cannot recall such an incident in my short time for sure as a minister, but I cannot recall an incident like this in recent memory,” McGuinty told media Oct. 17, adding that this is an “active and delicate situation and soon to be an active and delicate investigation.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney said the incident is one of the worst peacetime tragedies for the CAF on Canadian soil. “We stand in solidarity and compassion for the families, the friends, and the colleagues of all those affected by this tragedy,” he said.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said provincial resources have been deployed to ensure the injured receive the care they need. “The loss of life and injuries are heartbreaking,” Smith said.

Fire crews work the burn area at CFB Wainwright, where four people have been killed and numerous others injured, near the town of Wainwright, Alta., on Oct. 18, 2026. The Canadian Press/John Ulan

In May 2014, Lt.-Col. Daniel Bobbitt, 43, was killed and four other Canadian Armed Forces members suffered injuries after a light armoured vehicle rolled over during a training exercise.

Six months later in November, 2014, Pte. Steven Allen, 20, was killed when a structure used in training exercises collapsed.

In April 2017, Sgt. Robert Dynerowicz died after the armoured vehicle he was in rolled over during training, while three others were injured. In October 2020, Cpl. James Choi, 29, was killed after being hit with a round during live-fire training at CFB Wainwright.

One of Canada’s deadliest military training incidents occurred Jan. 29, 1989, after a Canadian C-130 Hercules aircraft crashed while landing at the U.S. Army’s Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks, Alaska, ahead of the multinational winter training Exercise Brim Frost 89. Seven soldiers died in the crash and two more subsequently died of their injuries.

A particularly deadly military training incident occurred in 1968 at CFB Petawawa in Ontario, when seven soldiers drowned in a parachute training exercise.

Another happened in 1974 at CFB Valcartier in Quebec when six army cadets were killed by an accidental grenade explosion. And in 1988, six military engineering students at CFB Chilliwack in B.C. were killed after explosives detonated unexpectedly during demolitions training.