Border Patrol arrested two firefighters who were actively fighting a wildfire at the time. [View all]

[In It to Win It]

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/climate-lab/federal-agents-arrest-firefighters-working-on-wa-wildfire/

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.

🚨Border Patrol arrested two firefighters who were actively fighting a wildfire at the time.

When the other members of the crew asked for a chance to say goodbye, a Border Patrol agent told the crew member “you need to get the f*ck out of here. I’m going to make you leave.”

— Aaron Reichlin-Melnick (@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social) 2025-08-28T02:51:50.127Z