Firefighters reflect on Coeur d'Alene ambush loss ahead of memorial

The Avista Pavilion at McEuen Park will turn into a place of remembrance as Coeur d'Alene firefighters, families and neighbors gather around the loss from Canfield Mountain. The public memorial at 10 a.m. Monday, June 29, will mark one year since Battalion Chief John Morrison and Battalion Chief Frank Harwood were killed and firefighter-engineer David Tysdal was gravely wounded in an attack that shook the city’s fire service and the wider county.

Morrison, 52, of the Coeur d'Alene Fire Department, and Harwood, 42, of Kootenai County Fire and Rescue, were shot and killed while responding to what authorities said was a deliberately set fire on Canfield Mountain. Tysdal, 47, was seriously wounded and later retired after 24 years with the Coeur d'Alene Fire Department. Authorities identified the suspect as Wess Roley, 20, and said there was no known motive. Sheriff Bob Norris called it a total ambush.

The memorial will come after a year that included grief, a public procession, and a long stretch of daily support from the community. Morrison and Harwood were escorted home in a public procession on June 30, 2025, a show of respect that drew residents to the route through downtown Coeur d'Alene. Fundraising for the families was coordinated through the Red & Blue Foundation, alongside bank accounts opened in the families’ names.

Fire Chief Jon Fugitt said the community’s steady support has helped the departments heal, and Kootenai County Fire and Rescue Chief Pete Holley said simple check-ins from residents have mattered. Holley also said the shooting forced more discussion inside the firehouse about mental health and peer support, a sign that the impact has not stayed limited to the mountain where the attack happened.

The city and fire service have also continued to formally recognize the response. In February 2026, Idaho officials announced medal-of-honor recognitions for Kootenai County deputies Harvey Ballman, Arek Brock and Josh Orr, Northern Lakes Fire District Capt. Fritz Wiedenhoff, and Tysdal. Officials said the deputies helped extract an injured firefighter, a trapped firefighter and five civilians while a wildland fire was burning. Tysdal also used his chin to key his lapel microphone to warn others not to respond to his location.

As the June 29 memorial approaches, Coeur d'Alene is marking more than the loss itself. The ceremony has become a way to hold the names of Morrison and Harwood, honor the rescue work that followed, and measure how a fire community has carried the weight of that day for a full year.