Canada’s defense minister confirmed casualties after a major fire broke out at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, with high winds spreading flames and hospitals reporting they were overwhelmed by the number of patients

EDMONTON, Alberta — Canada’s defense minister said that several people were killed and injured in an incident at a military base in Alberta that caused a major fire on Oct. 17, while reports indicated large numbers of injured people were being transported to hospitals.

Fire crews worked late into the night as fierce winds whipped flames beyond Canadian Forces Base Wainwright and into the surrounding rural area, the Associated Press reported.

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The exact number of people killed or injured is not immediately known, but a doctor at a hospital in Edmonton, 120 miles northwest of the base, told a Canadian broadcaster that patients were being transported to hospitals across the city as health care facilities near the base became overwhelmed.

“This number of patients would overwhelm the city of Edmonton,” Dr. Warren Thirsk told CBC News. “It is more patients than any of us want to count right now. It’s a disaster. It’s a one in every 15- to 25-year disaster.”

Defense Minister David McGuinty said the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were investigating the incident, calling the situation very active and delicate. He said authorities were still working to determine what happened and expected to release more information.

RCMP officers were called shortly after 4 p.m. following reports of a fire in a training area at the base.

Firefighters faced difficult conditions as wind gusts swept across large areas of the province.

By 11 p.m., the Municipal District of Wainwright posted on social media that the fire was being contained and that property and critical infrastructure were protected. No evacuation order was issued.

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