Overview

• Officials confirmed two firefighters were killed and said the number of injured remains uncertain.
• Fire suppression efforts have been paused, allowing the blaze to persist in the dense brush of the Canfield Mountain Natural Area.
• Kootenai County Emergency Management ordered a shelter-in-place for nearby communities and warned the public to avoid the East Nettleton Gulch Road and trailhead areas.
• Local sheriffs and Spokane County deputies, joined by FBI tactical teams, are conducting a manhunt under sporadic sniper fire from high-powered rifles.
• Investigators are probing whether the brush fire was set deliberately as bait to lure responders into the deadly ambush.