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Wainwright is a military town, and it is grieving.

Four Canadian soldiers were killed and dozens more were injured when a fast-moving fire swept through a training area at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright on Saturday afternoon. The base sits just southwest of the town, about 200 kilometres southeast of Edmonton.

The soldiers killed were Sgt. Morgan Wong of Edmonton, Pte. Shaun Farrell of Prince Albert, Sask., Pte. Aidan Goulding of North Vancouver and Pte. Hayden Lykkemark of Langley, B.C.

Premier Danielle Smith said 39 people were taken to hospital. Nineteen were in critical condition.

Prime Minister Mark Carney called it one of the worst tragedies for the forces on Canadian soil in peacetime.

The base covers about 148,000 acres and is one of the busiest training areas in the country. It is where the Canadian Army trains with live fire, with infantry, and artillery.

Members of the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry were training with live munitions when strong winds pushed a nearby grass fire onto their position.

Maj.-Gen. Wade Rutland, commander of 1st Canadian Division, said his commander on the ground saw no fire, and then, within 30 seconds to a minute, “there was a fire right on top of them.”

So many injured soldiers arrived at the Wainwright Health Centre that it was overwhelmed. Air ambulances were dispatched from Edmonton and Saskatoon. Edmonton hospitals declared a Code Orange, their mass casualty alert, and the public was asked to stay away from the University of Alberta Hospital emergency room.

The cause has not been determined.

Rutland said a range of ordnance was in use that day, including grenades, a grenade launcher and small arms, and that any of it, or none of it, could have caused the fire. He said the military’s initial impression is that oil and gas infrastructure was not damaged, but that it will be checked.

The Canadian Armed Forces will convene a board of inquiry. Rutland said answers will take longer than a day or a week, and that he expects to provide an update in about a month.

Most people in Wainwright did not want to talk on camera, and Rebel News respected that. The community has come together anyway. Albertans are lining up to give blood. Neighbours are bringing meals to families and to the crews still on site. People are opening their homes to those who are grieving.

Keep these soldiers, their families and the town of Wainwright in your prayers.