Idaho Arson And Ambush Raises Questions But No Answers Yet

Over the course of Sunday afternoon into the evening, a horrific attack on firefighters in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, left two dead and a third injured, and the eventual discovery of a deceased gunman.

The situation began with a 911 call reporting a brushfire on Canfield Mountain, just northeast of Coeur d’Alene. When firefighters responded, an armed man opened fire on them, killing two and severely injuring another. The firefighters were forced to withdraw while still under attack, a fire burning, and calling for help from law enforcement.

As you can hear from the call from the firefighters, they quickly identified two key points – this fire had been intentionally set, and the purpose was to ambush them once they arrived on the scene. This led to an hours-long standoff where law enforcement was under “sniper fire,” unable to combat the very real wildfire that was spreading. At around 7:45 pm local (Pacific Daylight) time, the Kootenai County Sheriff’s office announced that the gunman was deceased. A later press conference last night clarified details of which fire departments had been involved, but did not identify the victims or the shooter.

The initial all for a brush fire came in at about 1:30 p.m. Sunday. Shortly after firefighters responded, they broadcasted 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.

The saddest sight of the day was the procession that accompanied the fallen firefighters from Idaho to the medical examiner’s office in Spokane, Washington.

HONORING HEROES: A miles-long procession with agencies from around the Northwest for the two fallen Coeur d’ Alene Firefighters tragically killed in the line of duty. pic.twitter.com/9mKMMifcVL

— Ari Hoffman (@thehoffather) June 30, 2025

Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, is not a large town. The sheriff was quick to repeat during the late evening press conference that this is a rural area, and absolutely no one ever expected anything like this to happen here. The loss of two firefighters, plus one still gravely injured and hospitalized, is going to have a deeply traumatic impact on the community at large. Something truly terrible has happened, and people are going to want answers.

In all honesty, it might have been better for the sheriff’s department to delay a press conference until they were able to identify the shooter. The sheriff was upset about the rumors and information that were spread around on social media regarding the deaths of the firefighters. As everyone is searching for a motive, or for information, the theories floating out there are getting even wilder. There was speculation of the identity of the shooter, asking if he might be a fugitive out of Washington state. Surprisingly, this was the least crazy of the theories. There are ones including white supremacist Aryan Nation ties (because Idaho), claims of the entire thing being a “false flag,” or that because Sheriff Norris once did some training in Israel, this is all clearly a – wait for it – false flag by the Jews! (On that note, who wouldn’t want to train with the Mossad? Have you seen what they’ve been doing recently??) And yes, this is all just randos on X who clearly have nothing better to do with their lives. But it does speak to a larger problem. To a society now thoroughly inculcated in police and legal dramas that gets someone investigated, arrested, and tried in under an hour, having to wait for information means that there must be a conspiracy afoot. Unfortunately, the crime scene was compromised by the spreading wildfire, as law enforcement had to make the decision to move the deceased’s body out of the way before the fire got there – which means that there may be evidence that gets lost. That knowledge may just add fuel to the conspiracy fires. And of course, gun control groups had to toss in their two cents’ worth – even as they admit they have no information to go on.

BREAKING: Multiple firefighters have been shot while responding to a brush fire in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. At least two people have been killed.

Our hearts are with all those impacted as we await more information. This can’t keep happening.https://t.co/DfUYL765bR

— GIFFORDS (@GIFFORDS_org) June 30, 2025

Eventually, we will learn the identity of the deceased shooter, and what his possible motives were. At the moment, authorities have not identified him beyond being male and dead. During the press conference, Sheriff Norris declined to confirm whether the shooter committed suicide or not – which would tell us a lot. Firefighters are one of the most universally respected first responders there are, which leads one to think that the motives must have been either intensely personal, or simply the work of a crazy person. Perhaps both. Maybe someone really did just “want to watch the world burn” – literally and figuratively. It still shouldn’t take away from the losses that were just suffered by two families, the damage done to a third family, and the collective grief of the Coeur d’Alene community. Pray for them.

Featured image via geralt on Pixabay, cropped, Pixabay license

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