On Saturday morning, Canadian military officials at a base in Alberta province observed a grass fire that appeared sufficiently contained, allowing soldiers to conduct live-fire combat training. Then, the officials say, the wind shifted. In less than a minute, Canadian soldiers went from training drills to being engulfed in flames, said Major-General Wade Rutland, describing the incident that killed four soldiers and injured 39 people, 19 of them critically.
That is not normal for a fire to move a kilometre in 36 seconds,” Rutland said at a news conference in Edmonton, the capital of Alberta, on Sunday. While the cause of the grass blaze remains unknown, Prime Minister Mark Carney described the incident as one of the worst peacetime tragedies for Canada’s military on domestic soil. So how did the grass fire spread so fast, and why is this base significant?
A grass fire spreads through dry grass, weeds, shrubs and other low-growing vegetation. Unlike forest fires that burn through trees and woodland, grass fires spread across open fields, grasslands and plains. They can move exceptionally quickly because dry grass ignites easily and provides a continuous source of fuel, and wind can play a pivotal role in how the fire develops.
Strong winds push flames rapidly across open terrain, change their direction with little warning, and carry burning embers ahead of the main fire, potentially igniting new fires. The uncertainty of winds makes grass fires difficult to predict and contain, particularly in dry conditions. They may burn for a shorter time than a forest fire, and while they are easier to contain, the speed at which they can spread in dry conditions can make them lethal.
Grass fires can start naturally but can also be ignited by human activities, such as discarded cigarettes or equipment sparks. The fire spread on Saturday afternoon during high-intensity combat training involving Charlie Company of the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta, western Canada, about 210km (130 miles) southeast of Edmonton. The area lies in the prairies, a landscape of wide, open grasslands, rolling plains and scattered groves of trees.
The base is also one of the Canadian Army’s largest training centres and a key facility for preparing troops for operational deployment. About 84 soldiers were split between a grenade range and an area where they practised attacks on simulated enemy positions. The fire swept into the second training area.
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