Top 5 at 5: Calgary stories

Residents of Mayerthorpe, Alta. embrace during a March 2006 candlelight service, one year after three RCMP Constables, were gunned down following a raid on a marijuana grow-op. (Jeff McIntosh/Canadian Press)

Each day, we bring you a list of Top 5 stories. Sometimes they're the most read stories of the day, other times we focus on a specific region or category.

Today, we bring you the five most-viewed stories from the CBC Calgary's page.

1) 10 infamous RCMP shootings in Canada

The two Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers that were shot Feb. 7 near the town of Killam, Alta., are just the latest in a long string of RCMP who have been shot or killed in the line of duty.

A total of 228 officers from the RCMP, and its forerunner the North West Mounted Police (NWMP), have died while serving, according to the RCMP's Honour Roll, which lists the names of Mounties who died while performing police work.

2) Smoke from reserve fire drifting across S.W. Calgary

Smoke from a fire at a dump on the Tsuu T'ina reserve southwest of Calgary is wafting across several city communities Wednesday morning.

The smoke is moving east and the communities of Somerset, Evergreen and Bridlewood are primarily affected, the city said.

3) RCMP surround house after 2 Alberta Mounties shot

RCMP from five detachments have surrounded a rural residence near Killam, Alta., where two officers were shot Tuesday afternoon.

"We are currently at the scene. We have numerous police resources there including the emergency response team," said Chief Supt. Rick Taylor. "They are mustering their resources ... and trying to make contact with anyone inside that residence.

4) Fire destroys home in S.E. Calgary

A two-alarm fire devastated a house in southeast Calgary on Tuesday night.

The fire department was called to the single-story home on 18th Street S.E. in Ogden at about 7 p.m.

5) Calgary area growth exceeds national rate

New census data shows the population of the metropolitan area of Calgary outpaced the national growth rate over the last five years -- a period of time that saw the country spiral into the most serious economic tailspin since the Great Depression.

Statistics Canada released the first batch of numbers from the 2011 census on Wednesday and the population of what the government agency refers to as the census metropolitan area of Calgary increased by 12.6 per cent since the last census in 2006.