2 killed in sniper ambush as Idaho firefighters come under siege from rifle fire

BOISE Idaho AP Firefighters were ambushed by sniper fire while responding to a blaze in a northern Idaho mountain society Sunday killing at least two people and unleashing barrages of gunfire over several hours in an attack the governor called a heinous assault The Kootenai County Sheriff s Office explained crews responded to a fire at Canfield Mountain just north of Coeur d Alene around p m and gunshots were communicated about a half hour later Sheriff Bob Norris declared authorities believe the two people killed were fire personnel He didn t know if anyone else was shot We don t know how multiple individuals are up there and we don t know how a great number of casualties there are Norris informed reporters at a p m news conference We are actively taking sniper fire as we speak People are still coming off the mountain the sheriff reported so it would be safe to assume that others were still up there Gov Brad Little explained multiple firefighters were attacked This is a heinous direct assault on our brave firefighters Little announced on the social platform X I ask all Idahoans to pray for them and their families as we wait to learn more Norris stated it appeared the sniper was hiding in the rugged terrain and using a high-powered rifle He revealed he instructed deputies to fire back I m hoping that somebody has a clear shot and is able to neutralize because they re not at this point in time showing any evidence of wanting to surrender the sheriff explained An alert by the Kootenai County Urgency Management Office inquired people to avoid the area around Canfield Mountain Trailhead and Nettleton Gulch Road about miles km north of downtown Coeur d Alene The fire was still functioning Norris mentioned It s going to keep burning he mentioned Can t put any materials on it right now The FBI has responded to the scene with technical teams and tactical assistance Deputy Director Dan Bongino commented It remains an working and very dangerous scene he wrote in a post on X Coeur d Alene is a city of residents near the margin with Washington Canfield Mountain is a popular hiking and biking area on the outskirts covered with trees and heavy brush and crisscrossed with trails Weber published from Los Angeles Associated Press journalists Mead Gruver in Cheyenne Wyoming and Josh Funk in Omaha Nebraska contributed to this review