Joshua Hoston, an 18-year veteran of Idaho’s Coeur d’Alene Fire Department, remembers the moment a routine wildfire call turned into a deadly ambush that killed two fellow firefighters and wounded a third.
“We dropped everything we had, hopped back in the truck, and went racing back up to the mountain,” Hoston said.
What initially seemed like an ordinary report of a wildfire in the northwest Idaho city quickly devolved into chaos as first responders came under fire — an attack that has shaken the close-knit firefighting community.
Hoston said he was called to Canfield Mountain on Sunday, June 29, and was assisting with retrieving a UTV, a four-wheeled vehicle used to access tight terrain, when a call crackled over the radio: shots fired.
“The way it sounded, we knew it wasn’t a joke,” he said.
What he and others didn’t know at the time was that a man — now identified as 20-year-old Wess Roley — had allegedly set the fire intentionally to ambush responding firefighters.
Hoston said a captain with the Northern Lakes Fire District quickly ordered crews to stay at a staging area, away from the gunfire. He said he felt “helpless” not being able to rush to his colleagues to help, but acknowledged the decision likely saved more lives.
“If we all had been up there, we’d have been trapped,” he said. “It would have been a stack of bodies.”
Battalion Chiefs John Morrison and Frank J. Harwood were killed in the attack. Firefighter David Tysdal was wounded and remains hospitalized in stable condition after undergoing multiple surgeries.
“It’s been the worst imaginable 56 hours,” Coeur d’Alene firefighter and captain Jeff Fletcher told NBC News.
Fletcher was off duty that day and mountain biking in nearby Sandpoint when he began receiving urgent calls. He was told “two of my best friends” had been shot. He rushed to the Coeur d’Alene fire station, then to the hospital, where he and another firefighter set up a command post.
“Just to see the smoke plume from the wildland fire really brought realities to what we were about to undertake,” he said in a phone call on Thursday. “I think everybody initially was like, ‘How can this be happening? How can it be in our community?’”
Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said the “firefighters did not have a chance” after Roley allegedly opened fire.
Norris said they received reports that Roley — who, according to his family, once dreamed of becoming a firefighter — fired at responders from a tree.
Roley was found dead on the mountain last Sunday from a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said. A flint starter and shotgun were also recovered at the scene.
‘The most amazing person’
Fletcher said the days since the attack have been chaotic, leaving little time to process the tragedy.
“I’d say that a lot of us, we’re still in the trenches,” he said. “We’re also trying to balance grieving for John and Frank and supporting Dave, and then also pulling shifts and going on calls and trying to maintain our composure.”
Fletcher grew emotional recalling his 23-year friendship with Morrison, the battalion chief, and firefighter Tysdal, which began on his first day on the job.
“Dave is just the most amazing person,” he said through tears.
In the winter, Tysdal runs a Christmas tree farm.
“He included everybody in anything he was doing,” Fletcher said. “He’s the most generous, nicest person I’ve ever met.”
Officials said in an update on Wednesday that Tysdal underwent a third surgery. He was taken off a ventilator and was speaking, despite suffering severe chest and spinal trauma.
Morrison embodied “leadership on the fire ground that can never be replaced,” Fletcher said.
“In his position, when you show up to big incidents, he’s basically calling the shots. There was never second-guessing what his strategy was,” he said. “When you got back to the firehouse, he was the nicest, friendliest and funniest guy you’d ever meet.”
Idaho Gov. Brad Little said he was “heartbroken,” calling the attack a “heinous direct assault on our brave firefighters.”
Hundreds of people gathered for a procession Tuesday honoring Morrison and Harwood.
A motive in the shooting remains unclear. Authorities said no manifesto has been found and they still do not know why Roley was in the area. Norris, the sheriff, said it appeared he had been living out of his car.
The fire has burned about 23 acres and was 100% contained as of Friday morning, the Idaho Department of Lands said in a Facebook post.
Roley’s family could not be reached for comment. They released a statement Monday through their attorney, Justin P. Whittenton, saying that they “do not understand why this happened or how this came about.”
Since the attack, support for the victims and local fire community has poured in, said Ricky Walsh, vice president of the International Association of Fire Fighters District 7.
“We are our sisters’ and brothers’ keepers, and we are going to lean on each other and get through this event,” he said.
Tracy Rohr, 52, of Coeur d’Alene, said watching the community come together has been “heartwarming but tragically sad.”
“For me personally, I feel an overwhelming sense of pride for the way our community has come together,” she said. “But also, I definitely feel like we’re all at a loss. It’s tragic.”
