Two people fighting the Bear Gulch fire on the Olympic Peninsula were arrested by federal law enforcement Wednesday, in a confrontation described by firefighters and depicted in photos and video.
Why the two firefighters were arrested is unclear. But a spokesperson for the Incident Management Team leading the firefighting response said the team was “aware of a Border Patrol operation on the fire,” that it was not interfering with the firefighting response and referred reporters to the Border Patrol station in Port Angeles.
Over three hours, federal agents demanded identification from the members of two private contractor crews. The crews were among the 400 people including firefighters deployed to fight the wildfire, the largest active blaze in Washington state.
Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday about the confrontation.
It is unusual for federal border agents to make arrests during the fighting of an active fire, especially in a remote area.
On Wednesday, the two contract fire crews were sent up to the northeast side of Lake Cushman to cut wood for the local community, according to two firefighters on one of the crews.
The firefighters requested anonymity because they feared retaliation from federal agencies for talking to the media.
While they were waiting for their division supervisor to arrive, federal law enforcement showed up around 9:30 a.m.
Federal law enforcement asked the crews to line up to check their IDs, according to the firefighters.
One of the firefighters said members of the crew were told not to take video of the incident.
“You risked your life out here to save the community,” the firefighter said. “This is how they treat us.”
In a FaceTime video call from the other firefighter to The Seattle Times, firefighters in their gear were seen sitting on logs in front of federal officers. Some firefighters were dismissed back to their vehicles.
One firefighter attempted to walk over to his company vehicle to get something to drink and appeared to have been called back by federal officers.
In images shared by firefighters from the scene, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection vehicle is parked nearby. Officers wearing “Police” vests are seen arresting a firefighter, while another appears to be restrained.
According to one of the firefighters, they were denied the chance to say goodbye to the detained crew members.
“I asked them if his (family) can say goodbye to him because they’re family, and they’re just ripping them away,” the firefighter told the Times. “And this is what he said: ‘You need to get the (expletive) out of here. I’m gonna make you leave.’”
As of Wednesday morning, there were six 20-person hand crews on the Bear Gulch fire, and five of those are private contractors. As of Wednesday morning the fire covered nearly 9,000 acres and was 13% contained.
Federal policy under President Joe Biden’s administration stated that without “exigent circumstances” agents would not conduct their operations at natural disaster or emergency sites. Whether that policy remains in place, however, remains unclear.
Federal officials have pursued aggressive immigration enforcement actions under President Donald Trump’s administration.
