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The Town of Wainwright is reeling in the aftermath of the fire that killed four Canadian Armed Forces members at a training area of CFB Wainwright on Saturday and sent 39 people to hospital.
A blaze moved quickly through the area, spread by strong winds that business owner Sonjia Morgan said had a significant impact Saturday afternoon. Morgan was doing yard work when the weather shifted.
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“We looked at the forecast because it was supposed to be a nice day. But then they were saying wind was coming up, and it was about 3 or 3:30 that it got so fierce that we shut the garage door and thought, ‘I think we’re done for the day,'” she said.
Morgan, the owner of coffee shop Jack’s Place, said she lives in a two-storey house near the highway. From her bedroom window, she said she saw “one ambulance after another” on the road and knew something significant had happened.
Sonja Morgan owns Jack’s Place in Wainwright, Alta. (Libby Gray/650 CKOM)
“We know how many ambulances we have here, and it just kept coming. And it wasn’t just ambulances; it was vans, large SUVs and other vehicles being escorted, and lots of RCMP on the highway, lots of activity,” Morgan said.
Nicole Haveroen, the owner of The Farmhouse Cafe & Mercantile , said word quickly spread that something had happened near the base, but details were difficult to come by.
“We were confused and we didn’t understand because there was a lot of rumour and speculation,” Haveroen said.
Morgan added that the traffic on the ground and in the air continued well into Sunday.
“Where we live is the route that STARS takes to land at the hospital,” Haveroen said. “It continued over the house until after 2 a.m.”
As more details emerged, residents said the mood in Wainwright shifted dramatically.
“I noticed everyone is down, and when I was walking around, people had sad faces,” said Jesie Schilling, a Wainwright resident.
“It’s supposed to be a happy town, and for so many years people were happy talking to each other. But when this tragedy happened, people just were not talking to each other.”
Haveroen said the relationship between the town and those who serve at the nearby base is strong.
“They just are part of our community,” Haveroen said.
Several members of the Canadian Armed Forces are regulars at Nicole Haveroen’s cafe and store, The Farmhouse Cafe & Mercantile, in Wainwright. (Libby Gray/650 CKOM)
“Their wives, husbands, families and children are part of our community, and we have some really great regulars from the military in here as well.”
“It’s very sad, and I really feel for the families. Our hearts go out to all of them and everybody involved in responding and helping out,” Haveroen added.
The clock tower in Wainwright has been gathering flowers as a memorial for the lives lost and altered in Saturday’s fire at CFB Wainwright. (Libby Gray/650 CKOM)
Amid the sadness and shock, residents are also proud of the way their town has responded to the tragedy.
“I’m so proud of our first responders, hospital staff, doctors, nurses and the community for pulling together to deal with this tragedy,” Morgan said.
— with files from 650 CKOM’s Libby Gray
