Pacific Northwest lawmakers expressed outrage and demanded answers from the Trump administration about two firefighters who were arrested Wednesday by federal law enforcement agents at the Bear Gulch fire on the Olympic Peninsula.
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson said he was “deeply concerned” and had directed his team to get more information about the arrests that involved U.S. Border Patrol agents at the state’s largest wildfire. The two firefighters were among private contract crews hired to help fight the blaze.
Why the firefighters were arrested is unclear. But a spokesperson for the Incident Management Team leading the firefighting response said on Wednesday 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.
Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday and Thursday about the arrests.
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The firefighters went to their assigned location for the day Wednesday, where they were soon met by federal agents who lined firefighters up and demanded identification before arresting two, according to two firefighters interviewed by The Seattle Times and video and photos from the scene.
The confrontation lasted roughly three hours. Firefighters described being denied the opportunity to say goodbye to the detained crew members, and being told not to take video.
U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said, “No one should assume this was necessary or appropriate.”
“I am demanding immediate answers from this administration about the circumstances of this incident, the whereabouts of the detained firefighters,” Murray said in a written statement, “and the administration’s current policy regarding immigration enforcement during active wildfires.”
U.S. Rep. Emily Randall, D-Bremerton, whose 6th District spans the Olympic Peninsula, shared outrage on social media.
“THIS IS NOT MAKING AMERICA SAFER,” Randall wrote in all caps.
U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Seattle, said there aren’t words for the cruelty.
“Trump’s ICE is arresting firefighters who are ACTIVELY FIGHTING ONE OF THE LARGEST WILDFIRES IN THE UNITED STATES,” she wrote on social media.
Ricki Ruiz, an Oregon state lawmaker, called it “outrageous, shameful, and beyond belief.”
“Our heroes deserve gratitude and respect,” the Gresham Democrat wrote in a social media post, “not handcuffs and harassment.”
