At least two people were killed Sunday after shots were fired at firefighters who were tackling a blaze near the city of Coeur d'Alene in the northwestern US state of Idaho, officials said.

US authorities said late on Sunday that one suspected shooter had been found dead and is believed to have acted alone.

"Based on preliminary information we believe that was the only shooter," Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris told a news conference, adding "there is no threat to the community at this time."

The Kootenai County Sheriff's Office said the firefighters had been deployed to the blaze at Canfield Mountain at around 1:30 p.m. local time (19:30 GMT).

Norris said police responding to the incident were "still taking sniper fire" on Sunday afternoon.

Initially, authorities were not sure how many snipers were involved in the ambush.

What do we know about the incident?

Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said firefighters first responded to a report of a brush fire at Canfield Mountain, an area that is popular with hikers and cyclists. 

He said someone started shooting at them when they arrived, with the fire seemingly being set to lure them into an ambush.

A spokesperson with Kootenai Health later confirmed that three injured people were transported to the hospital.

Two of them, both firefighters, were dead on arrival, while a third, also a firefighter, made it through surgery and was "fighting for his life," according to Norris. 

Police who rushed to the scene began searching for the shooter in hilly terrain that offered plenty of cover amid undergrowth and trees, particularly with smoke from the nearby fire also obscuring any clear view, he said.

The dead suspect was reportedly found using cell phone data.

Edited by: John Silk