BOISE, Idaho – Firefighters were ambushed by sniper fire while responding to a blaze in a northern Idaho mountain community Sunday, killing at least two people and unleashing barrages of gunfire over several hours in an attack the governor called a βheinousβ assault.
The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office said crews responded to a fire at Canfield Mountain just north of Coeur dβAlene around 1:30 p.m. and gunshots were reported about a half hour later.
Sheriff Bob Norris said officials believe the two people killed were fire personnel. He didn’t know if anyone else was shot.
βWe donβt know how many suspects are up there, and we donβt know how many casualties there are,β Norris told reporters at a 4:30 p.m. news conference. βWe are actively taking sniper fire as we speak.β
People are still coming off the mountain, the sheriff said, so it βwould be safe to assumeβ that others were still up there.
Gov. Brad Little said βmultipleβ firefighters were attacked.
βThis is a heinous direct assault on our brave firefighters,β Little said on the social platform X. βI ask all Idahoans to pray for them and their families as we wait to learn more.β
Norris said it appeared the sniper was hiding in the rugged terrain and using a high-powered rifle. He said he instructed deputies to fire back.
βIβm hoping that somebody has a clear shot and is able to neutralize, because theyβre not at this point in time showing any evidence of wanting to surrender,β the sheriff said.
An alert by the Kootenai County Emergency Management Office asked people to avoid the area around Canfield Mountain Trailhead and Nettleton Gulch Road, about 4 miles (6.5 km) north of downtown Coeur dβAlene.
The fire was still active, Norris said.
βItβs going to keep burning,β he said. βCanβt put any resources on it right now.β
Coeur d’Alene is a city of 55,000 residents near the border with Washington. Canfield Mountain is a popular hiking and biking area on the outskirts of the northern Idaho city, covered with trees and heavy brush and crisscrossed with trails.
