Some Thoughts on the Canfield Mountain Shooting in North Idaho

I had planned to post another story today, but changed my mind after the events of Sunday. As regular readers know, I generally don’t weigh in on politics or current events, but this is different — this is my home.

You’re probably aware of the situation in and around Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. On Sunday, someone set a fire on Canfield Mountain, a very popular place with lots of hiking trails, and then began shooting at firefighters and first responders who came to put the blaze out.

At least two have been shot dead:

And the fire is still burning:

Keep in mind that this is North Idaho, a very conservative part of the country. Things like this just don’t happen here. I’ve lived here for years and haven’t seen anything this horrific in decades.

The local sheriff called it an ambush:

Here’s more of that press briefing:

The shooter was found dead, and at this time, authorities believe he acted alone. Still, I’m left feeling saddened and confused.

Sad, because, as I mentioned before, things like this don’t normally happen here. This isn’t exactly a hotbed of crime, after all. I’m also sad for the families of the firefighters who were shot, and I’m keeping them in my thoughts and prayers.

I’m also confused because so far, no one has told us anything about the shooter or what motivated him. Why would he do this? Did he leave a manifesto? What was going on in his life, and what drove him to do this? Was he drunk or high on drugs? The sheriff said he wants to wait until they have all the facts about the shooter, which makes sense.

One concern I have is that this will be used as a tool for political activists, and I sincerely hope that doesn’t happen. As the sheriff said in his briefing, this is an area that fully supports firefighters and law enforcement. As he correctly noted, many of the people there have yet to process this in their minds fully.

This incident has had a profound impact on the community here in multiple ways. There will be efforts to provide support for those impacted by this, and I encourage everyone to contribute what they can. Be very careful, though, as there will be many scammers looking to take advantage of the situation. When I find out who will be spearheading that effort, I’ll update this post.

This was senseless and tragic. One person called it “unspeakable evil,” and I agree 100 percent.

My thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected and their families. And I hope and pray this never happens again.