People from across the community of Wainwright, Alta., lined the highway that cuts through town Wednesday morning to pay their respects to some of the soldiers at the centre of the weekend tragedy that left four dead and dozens more injured.
Throngs of people grew quiet as a convoy of buses, flanked by RCMP vehicles with lights flashing, passed by.
The Edmonton-bound buses carried some of the soldiers involved in Saturday’s catastrophic training exercise at CFB Wainwright.
Some in the crowd were in Armed Forces fatigues, others stood along the highway holding signs of support and waving Canadian flags.
Town officials had urged residents to gather in a show of support for the soldiers as they departed from the town.
The tight-knit military community was shaken to its core after a violent shift in winds sent flames from a grass fire hurtling toward 84 members of the Edmonton-based Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.
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Dolly Brooks, who stood along the highway Wednesday, said has been a member of the community since 2004. She moved there shortly after her husband was posted at the base and they have since made it home.
“We just want to be here to support our troops and do everything that we can,” she said. “And I have noticed — from near and far, and all over the world — that we are getting the support that we need.”
Brooks said she wants the soldiers and their families to know that everyone in the town stands behind them. She also wanted to show her thanks to the first responders who helped during the disaster.
“Our hearts are with those people that we lost and those who are still struggling.”
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Military leaders have said they were aware of the grass fire that was burning roughly a kilometre away, but the extreme winds forced the fire to change course, moving toward the training range and descending on the soldiers on the sprawling base, about 200 kilometres southeast of Edmonton..
Maj.-Gen. Wade Rutland, commander of 1st Canadian Division, said Sunday that the sudden, strong winds rapidly increased the fire’s intensity and flames were “right on top” of the soldiers within 30 seconds to a minute.
The four killed have been identified as: Sgt. Morgan Wong Pte. Shaun Farrell ; Pte. Aidan; and Pte. Hayden Lykkemark. In addition, 39 soldiers were taken to hospitals across the province on Sunday, with at least 19 of them still in critical condition.
As of Wednesday morning, 27 remain in hospital, Defence Minister David McGuinty said in Ottawa. He added that it remains a “very difficult and delicate situation” for those soldiers.
“They are, of course, fighting the fight,” he said. “And our thoughts are with their families.”
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Provincial health officials with Acute Care Alberta have declined to provide details on the status of soldiers who remain in care, how many have been discharged and how many remain in critical condition.
For many of the injured soldiers, recovery is expected to be a long, delicate process and families across the country continue to wait for signs that their loved ones have stabilized.
Sean Haitt, a 24-year-old corporal in the Loyal Edmonton Regiment, is one of 19 critically wounded soldiers. He remains sedated in Edmonton hospital with burns covering nearly half of his body, across his face, arms and legs.
Teresa Hiatt said her brother needs skin grafting, surgery and physical therapy, and the family still don’t know the extent of the damage to his lungs. She said she broke down the first time she saw him in his hospital bed.
“This is my little brother. Like he’s big and strong, but he’s still that little boy to me.”
In an interview Wednesday with CBC’s The Current, she said her brother has opened his eyes for the first time since he was admitted to hospital and squeezed their mother’s hand.
She said it’s the only physical touch he is allowed to have, due to the severity of his wounds and concerns of infection.
She said doctors have told the family that the tactical gear he was wearing in the field, including his helmet and boots, helped protect him from more extensive burns.
She said he will be undergoing surgery this week to remove some of the damaged tissue and begin placing skin grafts.
“It’s going to be a long road. Like they told us it’s a marathon, not a sprint,” she said.
“He’s tough. He likes to show that nothing hurts him and anything, but deep down, he is such a beautiful soul.”
