As a wildfire began to sow panic in a small northern Idaho mountain community in the US, a group of firefighters who rushed to put out the blaze instead found themselves in an unexpected shootout.
A man who had intentionally set the fire to ambush the crew yesterday was perched in a sniper position, firing at the firefighters. They took cover behind fire trucks, but two died and a third was wounded during a barrage of gunfire over several hours, authorities said.
First responders made urgent calls for help on their radios at Canfield Mountain just north of Coeur d’Alene: “Everybody’s shot up here … send law enforcement now,” according to one dispatch.
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Two helicopters converged on the area, armed with snipers ready to take out the suspect if needed, while the FBI used his cellphone data to track him and the sheriff ordered residents to shelter in place. They eventually found the suspect dead in the mountains, his firearm beside him.
It is unknown how he died, and authorities have not yet revealed a motive.
The suspect has been identified as Wess Roley, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press overnight. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the investigation.
“We do believe that the suspect started the fire, and we do believe that it was an ambush and it was intentional,” Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said at a Sunday night news conference.
“These firefighters did not have a chance.”
Sheriff’s officials said crews responded to a fire at Canfield Mountain just north of Coeur d’Alene around 1.30pm (8.30am AEST), and gunshots were reported about a half hour later.
Investigators said the gunman acted alone.
“We believe that was the only shooter that was on that mountain at that time,” Norris said.
Three victims were brought to Kootenai Health, hospital spokesperson Kim Anderson said.
Two were dead on arrival and the third was being treated for injuries, Anderson said.
The wounded firefighter was “fighting for his life” after surgery and was in stable condition, Norris said.
The scene was sheer pandemonium as the brush fire burned and firefighters rushed to the scene only to come under heavy fire.
Hours after the ambush, people gathered along Interstate 90 holding American flags to pay their respects as the two fallen firefighters’ bodies were taken to the medical examiner’s office in Spokane, Washington, about 56km from Coeur d’Alene.
Governor Brad Little on Monday ordered US and Idaho state flags to be lowered to half-staff to honour the firefighters until the day after their memorial service.
“All our public safety officers, especially our firefighters, bravely confront danger on a daily basis but we have never seen a heinous act of violence like this on our firefighters before,” he said in a statement.
“This is not Idaho. This indescribable loss is felt deeply by all those in the firefighting community and beyond.”
https://x.com/GovernorLittle/status/1939460833354072306
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.
An alert by the Kootenai County Emergency Management Office asked people to avoid the area around Canfield Mountain Trailhead and Nettleton Gulch Road, about 6km north of downtown Coeur d’Alene.
Though the shelter-in-place order was lifted, the sheriff’s office cautioned residents to be prepared because the fire was still burning.
The FBI responded to the scene with technical teams and tactical support, Deputy Director Dan Bongino said.
The Idaho House Republican Leadership said in a 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.”
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 city’s outskirts, covered with trees and heavy brush and crisscrossed with trails that lead into a national forest.
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Fire is always a big concern for the region, said Bruce Deming, whose property abuts the trail system.
When he noticed smoke on the ridge Sunday afternoon, he wondered why no firefighting helicopters were responding.
When a friend texted to tell him about the shooting, he realised why he wasn’t seeing aircraft: “Because they’re concerned about being shot at,” he said.
As deputies set up posts nearby, Deming pointed them to a trail that starts near his back door and leads directly to the site of the fire.
“I just don’t want to have to wake up in the middle of the night to figure if somebody’s out prowling around my place,” he said.
