The Associated Press

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho  — Two young Coeur d’Alene children are hospitalized in Seattle after suffering burns when a gas can exploded near a backyard fire pit.

Police say a 35-year-old man poured gasoline from a 5-gallon can onto the fire at about 5 p.m. Saturday when the can caught fire. He threw the can behind him, where it exploded and burned an 8-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl.

The children were flown that night to the burn center at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

The Spokesman-Review newspaper reports the boy was hospitalized in intensive care with first-and second-degree burns on 21 percent of his body, mostly his legs and arms. The girl suffered burns on 9 percent of her body.

Sgt. Christie Wood says police have forwarded the results of their investigation to Kootenai County prosecutors to determine if charges should be filed.