ICE Detains Two Firefighters Amid Washington Wildfire Response, Sparking Outrage

The two people detained were working for companies that had been contracted to help fight the 9,000-acre Bear Gulch fire in the Olympic National Forest.

Two contracted firefighters assisting in the battle against Washington’s 9,000-acre Bear Gulch Fire were detained by U.S. Border Patrol agents last week, igniting political and public backlash. The arrests occurred during an identity check requested by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) as part of a criminal investigation into the contractors employing the crew.

According to federal officials, the two individuals were determined to be in the U.S. illegally and were taken to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in Tacoma. The remaining 42 crew members were escorted off federal land after the BLM terminated its contracts with the firefighting companies.

Washington Rep. Emily Randall criticized the operation as an “unprecedented raid” on an active emergency response site, noting that she was denied entry to the detention center when attempting to meet the detained firefighters. Senator Patty Murray also condemned the arrests, calling the policy “immoral” and “dangerous” during an ongoing wildfire crisis.

The Department of Homeland Security stated the detained workers were in support roles, not actively fighting the fire at the time, and that firefighting operations were not disrupted. The Bear Gulch Fire, burning in the Olympic National Forest since July 6, remains only partially contained.