Two North Idaho firefighters slain in ambush

COEUR d’ALENE — Hours after two firefighters were ambushed and fatally shot while responding to a blaze on Canfield Mountain, authorities announced that the suspected shooter was found dead on the burning mountain. 

The suspect has not been publicly identified. His background and motives remain under investigation, police said. Authorities believe the suspect set the fire intentionally and acted alone. 

“This was a total ambush,” Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said during a Sunday night news conference in Hayden. “These firefighters did not have a chance.”

While authorities declined to release the identities of the two slain firefighters Sunday night, Norris confirmed that one was a part of the Coeur d’Alene Department and the other was part of Kootenai County Fire and Rescue. 

A third firefighter, also part of the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department, was injured in the attack and underwent surgery. 

“He is fighting for his life, but he is in stable condition,” Norris said. 

No other injuries were reported. 

Gov. Brad Little called the shootings "a heinous direct assault on our brave firefighters. I ask all Idahoans to pray for them and their families as we wait to learn more.”

Idaho House Republican Leadership posted this statement: “We are horrified by the murder of two firefighters in Coeur d’Alene, and shocked by such a vicious attack on our first responders. We are praying for them, the injured, their families and their colleagues.”

Multiple law enforcement agencies, including federal authorities, responded to the area while police established a 17,000-square-foot containment area. The county’s resources were soon exhausted, Norris said, but other agencies stepped up, providing helicopters, snipers and other resources. 

“Our federal partners assisted us in this situation,” Norris said. 

Police exchanged gunfire with the suspect and later used cell phone data to hone in on a wooded area where they found the suspect’s body. A firearm was found nearby, though Norris declined to identify the specific weapon and said it’s likely that investigators will recover more weapons when they return to the scene Monday morning. 

A shelter-in-place order was lifted Sunday night.

Pete Holley, deputy chief of operations for Kootenai County Fire and Rescue, said the firefighters could never have anticipated the attack they faced while responding to a grass fire. 

“This is something that we don’t train for,” he said. “It’s not something we expect. It’s not something our firefighters should have to deal with.” 

While the suspected shooter was at large, fire crews were unable to access the blaze. The fire was estimated to be 15 to 20 acres in size as of Sunday night, according to the Idaho Department of Lands, with numerous snags and deep terrain. 

More resources, including aircraft, heavy equipment, water tenders, engines and hand crews, are expected to work the fire Monday.