A helicopter drops water on the Bear Gulch Fire on Washington's Olympic Peninsula on Aug. 5, 2025.
Courtesy of U.S. Forest Service
Videos posted to social media and shared with KUOW show federal agents arresting two firefighters working on the Bear Gulch fire on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula on Wednesday.
Rachel Lipski, a public information officer from the Western Washington Type 3 Incident Management Team, said they’re “aware” of a Border Patrol operation at the Bear Gulch Fire, but it’s “not interfering” with efforts to contain the fire.
In a statement Thursday, Sen. Patty Murray slammed the arrests as unnecessary, and demanded “immediate answers” as to why the men were arrested on the job, and what the immigration enforcement policy is during active wildfires.
“Here in the Pacific Northwest, wildfires can, and have, burned entire towns to the ground,” Murray wrote. “We count on our brave firefighters, who put their lives on the line, to keep our communities safe — this new Republican policy to detain firefighters on the job is as immoral as it is dangerous.”
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson also posted to social media Thursday that he’s “deeply concerned about this situation with two individuals helping to fight fires in Washington state. I’ve directed my team to get more information about what happened.”
The wildfire started July 6 on the north side of Lake Cushman, near Mount Rose in Olympic National Forest. As of Wednesday, the blaze is 13% contained and has burned a total of 8,960 acres, according to a press release from the Incident Management Team. The exact cause of the fire remains under investigation, but firefighters know it was human caused.
Federal officials have not yet responded to KUOW’s request for comment.
Immigration enforcement at the site of a wildfire response is unusual. During the 2021 wildfire season, Department of Homeland Security guidance stated that “absent exigent circumstances, immigration enforcement will not be conducted at locations where disaster and emergency response and relief is being provided, such as along evacuation routes, sites used for sheltering or the distribution of emergency supplies, food or water, or registration sites for disaster-related assistance or the reunification of families and loved ones.”
KUOW has asked DHS whether this policy has changed and has not yet heard back.
Gustavo Sagrero Álvarez is a reporter with KUOW. This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
It is part of OPB’s broader effort to ensure that everyone in our region has access to quality journalism that informs, entertains and enriches their lives. To learn more, visit our journalism partnerships page.
