Sarah Mills: Canada should be united in grief
Sarah Mills says the tragic set of circumstances in Wainwright that left four dead and dozens injured should make us all...
A fire that tore through a Canadian Armed Forces training ground in Wainwright, Alta., on Saturday killed four soldiers and injured 39 others. False and misleading claims about the fire and its cause spread online this week. Here is a look at some of them.
THE CLAIM
On X, a post that described supposed details of the fire received around 11,000 likes.
The post claimed someone shot a high explosive round that went off course and struck a gas well, which then exploded and started the fatal fire. The post also claimed the explosion destroyed three structures with about 300 soldiers inside.
Similar posts on X and Facebook suggested the fire was caused by a live fire drill triggering the explosion of a gas well.
THE FACTS
Defence officials have not released the official cause of the fire.
Early news reports in the immediate aftermath of the fire did suggest a gas well could have been involved.
Global News, citing multiple military sources, initially reported that a live-fire training exercise hit a gas line or gas well on the base, causing an explosion.
Global later updated its story, writing, “A preliminary investigation suggests a munition from the live training exercise sparked a fast-moving grass fire, which caused an explosion.”
The latest information from military officials as of Monday says strong and sudden winds sent flames from a nearby grass fire toward 84 members of Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry who were in a training area.
Maj.-Gen. Wade Rutland, commander of the 1st Canadian Division, said most of the soldiers were throwing hand grenades on a range while 10 others were doing a simulated attack on an enemy.
He said leaders were aware of the grass fire that had ignited roughly a kilometre away, but the fire was “right on top” of the group within 30 seconds to a minute.
Rutland said army officials do not believe the fire was the result of an explosion from natural gas infrastructure. A full investigation is underway.
The Alberta Energy Regulator said that while it maintains oil and natural gas infrastructure at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, it has not received reports of incidents regarding that infrastructure.
“The AER continues to monitor the situation and has not been engaged by the lead agency or other provincial agencies in any response at this time,” the regulator said in a statement Sunday.
THE CLAIM
A TikTok video from Oct. 18 shows someone speaking about the incident in front of a green screen, which shows multiple separate videos. One clip shows an explosion in what appears to be a residential area; another shows a burnt landscape; other clips show large plumes of smoke.
The video received more than 200,000 views.
THE FACTS
The video of the burnt landscape was posted to an Alberta Facebook group by a user who lists the location as south of Wainwright.
But the video of the explosion is unrelated. A reverse image search shows the clip is of an explosion at an ammunitions factory in Italy in August, as reported by multiple local and international media outlets.
One of the videos depicts the aftermath of a U.S. air force bomber crash in California in June, and The Canadian Press was unable to link it or any of the other smoke plume videos to CFB Wainwright.
THE CLAIM
An Oct. 19 X post claimed the federal government’s Earthquakes Canada website recorded a 3.7 magnitude earthquake in Wainwright at the time of the fire.
The Prime Minister and other officials “only talk of a fast moving fire — not an explosion,” the post reads.
THE FACTS
Earthquakes Canada, which records earthquakes using data from seismic stations across Canada, did not record any seismic events the day of the fire.
It recorded a 3.7 magnitude earthquake in Canmore, Alta., the day before. Canmore is more than 500 kilometres northeast of CFB Wainwright.
In a subsequent reply, the post’s author said they misinterpreted a post from another X user.
THE CLAIM
In an X post Sunday, a user claimed a Canadian Army major with the last name Singh had confirmed that a PFC, or private first class, fired an artillery shell at a natural gas well during windy conditions.
The post received around 4,500 likes, with many users seeming to take the post at face value.
THE FACTS
The Canadian Army has no rank of private first class, which is a U.S. military rank.
Maj.-Gen. Rutland is the military official who has shared details publicly about the fire. There is no record of the military personnel named in the post or the supposed comments made by a major with the last name Singh.
The X user has a history of making racist, false and inflammatory posts.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 20, 2026.
Marissa Birnie, The Canadian Press
