The New York Times has shared how firefighters were responding to a blaze in the panhandle of Idaho when a gunman deliberating started a wildfire before shooting the two firefighters and injuring another.
Sheriff Robert Norris of Kootenai County spoke at a news conference on the evening of the 29 June following the incident, saying: “This is a total ambush. These firefighters did not have a chance.”
According to Norris, law enforcement officers exchanged fire with the gunman while the wildfire burned, with officials finding later the body of a male suspect on the mountain with a firearm nearby.
The authorities said they believed the suspect had acted alone, but they did not release any information about his identity or motives.
Sheriff Norris also reported how the firefighters were dispatched to conduct reconnaissance after the authorities received a phone call about a fire on Canfield Mountain, on the eastern outskirts of Coeur d’Alene, at about 1:21 pm.
He added how about 40 minutes later, firefighters said that they were being shot at.
According to a feed posted on Broadcastify, a website that provides public access to emergency radio communications, the firefighters pleaded for help after two of them were shot.
One firefighter reported that they were hiding behind a firefighting rig and another could be heard saying that they thought the fire was set intentionally.
Sherriff Norris also revealed at the press conference that over 300 law enforcement officers from numerous agencies responded. With the F.B.I confirming that they were there to help the local authorities.
Later into the Sunday evening, the authorities used cellphone data to locate the body of the suspect, with Sheriff Norris adding that the body was then moved due to the rapid spread of the fire. The size of this fire was not disclosed.
According to preliminary information, there has been an indication that the suspect acted alone. The deceased man has still not been identified and it is unclear of how he passed away.
Sheriff Norris said that the officials did not believe that the suspect was the same man who called to report the fire.
One of the firefighters who died worked for the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department and the other was from Kootenai County Fire and Rescue, Sheriff Norris said.
The authorities have not released their names. The injured firefighter, from Kootenai County, was in stable condition.
The Canfield Mountain area features both public and private land, with a system of trails through steep mountain terrain used by hikers, mountain bikers and motorcyclists. Hikers were still making it off the mountain as the gunfire occurred.
Graham Christensen, a past President of the Lake City Trail Alliance, said the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department regularly performed brush clearing and fire suppression there and said he did not know of a naturally caused wildfire there in the past two decades.
Christensen reflected on the shock of the attack because according to his experience, the area had always felt so safe: “Everyone feels comfortable up there.”
Brian Hadley had been riding up the dirt roads around Canfield Mountain to train for a mountain-biking race when a neighbor called him to share the news about the fire
On Sunday, Brian Hadley had been riding up the dirt roads around Canfield Mountain to train for a mountain-biking race when a neighbor called him to share the news about the fire.
Hadley turned back and as he rode down the mountain he heard three gunshots in quick succession. When he reached the parking lot at base of the mountain, law enforcement officers ordered him out of the area.
He had only one word for the shooting- heartbreaking.
He said he could still see smoke from the fire drifting over his roof on Sunday evening — an unnerving sight because recent dry conditions have increased the wildfire danger in northern Idaho.
The New York Times has reported on an incident in Idaho on Sunday 27 June, where two firefighters were killed and further injured after they were shot at whilst responding to what they thought was a natural wildfire.
