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 locality 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 stated crews responded to a fire at Canfield Mountain just north of Coeur d Alene around p m and gunshots were stated about a half hour later Sheriff Bob Norris commented executives believe the two people killed were fire personnel He didn t know if anyone else was shot We don t know how a great number of persons are up there and we don t know how plenty of casualties there are Norris reported 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 commented so it would be safe to assume that others were still up there Gov Brad Little announced multiple firefighters were attacked This is a heinous direct assault on our brave firefighters Little noted on the social platform X I ask all Idahoans to pray for them and their families as we wait to learn more Norris commented it appeared the sniper was hiding in the rugged terrain and using a high-powered rifle He mentioned 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 noted An alert by the Kootenai County Emergency Management Office urged 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 proceeding Norris reported It s going to keep burning he disclosed Can t put any support on it right now The FBI has responded to the scene with technical teams and tactical assistance Deputy Director Dan Bongino disclosed It remains an ongoing and very dangerous scene he wrote in a post on X Coeur d Alene is a city of residents near the dividing line 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 broadcasted from Los Angeles Associated Press journalists Mead Gruver in Cheyenne Wyoming and Josh Funk in Omaha Nebraska contributed to this summary