A man who had intentionally set the fire to ambush the crew on Sunday was perched in a sniper position, firing at the firefighters. They took cover behind fire trucks, but two died and a third was wounded during a barrage of gunfire over several hours, authorities said.

What began as a routine response to a brush fire on northern Idaho’s Canfield Mountain turned into a deadly attack Sunday after firefighters reported someone shooting at them while they battled the flames.

Authorities say two firefighters were killed and another was badly injured after they were ambushed and shot while responding to a wildfire near Coeur d’Alene, Idaho on Sunday afternoon