Two firefighters were shot dead and a third wounded on an Idaho mountain when they were ambushed by a man who set the fire to lure them to the area, the local sheriff says.

As a wildfire began to sow panic in a small northern Idaho mountain community, a group of firefighters who rushed to put out the blaze instead found themselves in an unexpected shootout.

The identities of two firefighters killed and one who was injured have been released after a gunman reportedly intentionally set a fire and opened fire on crews responding to the fire on Sunday afternoon.