VIDEOS/PHOTOS: Two firefighters were killed and a third is fighting for his life after being ambushed while responding to a wildfire on Canfield Mountain in Coeur d’Alene Sunday afternoon. The initial call for a brush fire came in at about 1:30 p.m. Sunday. Shortly after firefighters responded, they broadcast at about 2 p.m. that they were being shot at, prompting a swift response from the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement agencies.
Law enforcement officers later exchanged gunfire with the suspect on the mountain, according to Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris in a Sunday night press conference. SWAT officers later found the man deceased on the mountain with a weapon nearby, and transported his body off the mountain as the wildfire was getting closer, according to Norris. That individual is believed to have been the only shooter and there is no lingering threat to the community, Norris said. In an earlier press conference Sunday, Norris had said they believed the shooter was using a “high-powered” rifle and was “well prepared” for the terrain.
Norris also said officials believe the fire was intentionally set to lure law enforcement and firefighters to the scene. “This was a total ambush. These firefighters didn’t have a chance,” said Norris. Two firefighters, one from Coeur d’Alene and another from Kootenai County, were killed. A third firefighter from Coeur d’Alene was transported to the hospital and is “fighting for his life” but in stable condition, Norris said. Their identities have not been released.
