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CALGARY: The Canadian government said on Sunday that a weekend fire at an Alberta military base killed at least four people and seriously injured dozens in what Prime Minister Mark Carney called one of the worst peacetime tragedies ever for Canada\u2019s armed forces on \u200bhome soil.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThe nation is in mourning for those brave members of our Armed Forces whom we have \u200blost,\u201d Carney said Sunday, adding that he had ordered flags on federal buildings across the \u2060country to be lowered to half-staff to honor the victims.<\/span><\/p>\n CBC, the government-funded national broadcaster, previously reported seven deaths \u200bat Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, citing unnamed sources. Canadian authorities have said the situation continues to evolve, and that they \u200bwill not confirm casualty figures until next of kin have been notified.<\/span><\/p>\n CFB Wainwright had 1,310 military and civilian personnel stationed there as of 2021, according to census data. The base, one of Canada\u2019s largest, is about 210 km (130 miles) east of Edmonton in Alberta. \u200bNational Defence Minister David McGuinty said on Sunday he would go to the city for briefings on the situation.<\/span><\/p>\n The \u200bbase houses the Canadian Manoeuvre Training Centre, which runs training scenarios and exercises for the army. Carney said those affected in \u200cSaturday\u2019s fire \u2060came from military bases across the country.<\/span><\/p>\n Few details have been released about the cause of the fire, which took place at about 4 p.m. (2200 GMT) on Saturday in a training area at the base as winds gusted up to 60 miles per hour (96 kilometers per hour).<\/span><\/p>\n Military and civilian firefighters fought the fire through the night in \u201csome of the \u200bworst conditions imaginable,\u201d Carney said.<\/span><\/p>\n Canadian \u200bofficials are expected to \u2060address the public from Wainwright, which is located in a largely rural area, later on Sunday afternoon.<\/span><\/p>\n Air ambulances from Edmonton and Saskatoon, which is about 300 km from Wainwright, \u200bflew to the military base on Saturday, Carney said. Patients are being treated in \u200bEdmonton, Wainwright, Calgary \u2060and Red Deer, he said.<\/span><\/p>\n Bonds were once the safe haven of choice.<\/span><\/p>\n Health staff in Edmonton said a \u201ccode orange,\u201d or mass-casualty event, was declared to coordinate the medical response for patients being transported from Wainwright, CBC News reported.<\/span><\/p>\n The town of Wainwright, with a population of about 6,600, is just north \u2060of the \u200bbase.<\/span><\/p>\n