These are the only words we can offer to the Idaho firefighters
There is something particularly nauseating about a creeper who would set a brush fire then start shooting at the first responders who rush to the scene to put it out.
But it seems an even bigger abomination to read about the stunning ambush of firefighters on a mountain in Idaho on Monday, June 30, the anniversary of the day when 19 brave hotshots died on a hill in Arizona.
At least nobody was shooting at them as they battled their final blaze.
According to Idaho authorities, the gunman started a wildfire on a mountain popular with hikers, just north of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Then he proceeded to shoot at the firefighters who responded.
Idaho firefighters were likely targeted
Pandemonium broke out as first responders, intent on battling a fire, found themselves under heavy fire.
'Everybody's shot up here,' said one first responder in an urgent radio call for help. 'Send law enforcement now.'
When the horror had ended, two firefighters were dead and a third was critically wounded.
The suspected sniper, 20-year-old Wess Roley, was later found dead, hiding in the rugged terrain with his high-powered rifle.
'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. 'These firefighters did not have a chance.'
It's difficult to fathom what could go through the mind of anyone who would set out to ambush firefighters.
They're the men and women who dedicate their lives to rescue.
They're the ones who ran into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, knowing they likely would never come out.
And in Arizona, on a Sunday afternoon 12 years ago, they're the ones who battled a wildfire on Yarnell Hill near Prescott.
Firefighters protect our communities, from Nettleton Gulch Fire to Yarnell
Everyone in Arizona knows and reveres the story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, overrun by fire in a box canyon when the hot, gusty winds suddenly shifted and no escape was possible.
Nineteen of the 20 hotshots died that day. The only survivor was posted as a lookout when the fire overtook his teammates.
Before it was done, the Yarnell Hill Fire burned more than 13 square miles and destroyed 127 buildings.
The Nettleton Gulch Fire, as the Idaho tragedy has been dubbed, grew to 26 acres overnight, according to the Idaho Department of Lands.
And there are the determined firefighters of Idaho, working still to put it out even as their teammates lay dead.
There's a memorial to the Yarnell Hill Fire in Yarnell, and Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial State Park was dedicated in 2016 as a place to remember the 19 Arizona firefighters who were lost that awful day.
But you don't need to travel to a place of tragedy to honor their sacrifice, not in New York City where more than 300 firefighters died after a terrorist attack and not in Yarnell, where 19 of Arizona's finest died fighting a fire started by lightning.
And not in Idaho, where two firefighters succumbed to a sort of evil most of us simply cannot understand.
There are no words we can say to the community of America's firefighters who risk their lives every day and now, apparently, not only have to confront fire but watch their backs, too.
Actually, there are words. Just two.
Thank you.
Laurie Roberts is a columnist for the Arizona Republic, where this column originally appeared. Reach Roberts at laurie.roberts@arizonarepublic.com or follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @LaurieRobertsaz, on Threads at @LaurieRobertsaz and on BlueSky at @laurieroberts.bsky.social
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