OPB’s First Look: Lawyers urge release of detained Oregon firefighter

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Good morning, Northwest.

Last month, U.S. Border Patrol arrested two firefighters during a raid at their work site while they were fighting the Bear Gulch Fire on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, as first reported by the Seattle Times.

One of those firefighters is Rigoberto Hernandez Hernandez of Oregon. He grew up in the U.S., and his parents were migrant farmworkers who traveled across multiple states for work.

In today’s newsletter, OPB reporter Joni Auden Land shares more on Hernandez’s attorneys’ petition for his release, citing violations of his due process rights.

And Beaverton engineer Alan Case was confirmed by USA Archery to have set a new national record for shooting an arrow farther than anyone else in the country. OPB’s Ian McCluskey has the story.

Here’s your First Look at Saturday’s news.

— Winston Szeto

Attorneys press for release of Oregon firefighter detained by federal immigration officials

Nearly one month after immigration officials arrested an Oregon wildland firefighter while he fought a blaze in Washington state, his attorneys are petitioning for his release, saying his due process rights have been violated.

Rigoberto Hernandez Hernandez, 23, was arrested Aug. 27 during a raid while fighting the Bear Gulch Fire in Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, along with one other firefighter.

He is currently being held at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, according to his attorneys at Innovation Law Lab.

Hernandez’s attorneys announced in a press conference yesterday that they filed a habeas petition asking to appear before a federal judge and demand the release of their client. They also filed a motion for a temporary restraining order. (Joni Auden Land)

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Things to know this morning

• Today, a new education pavilion is opening at Tryon Creek State Natural Area. The roughly 660-acre day-use area located in Southwest Portland near Lake Oswego is the only Oregon state park within a major metropolitan area. (Sheraz Sadiq) 

• The white-nose syndrome fungus was recently found in bat poop at a bus stop at the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park near Astoria, although staff at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said yesterday they haven’t seen infected bats in Oregon yet. (Courtney Sherwood) 

• Citing potential cuts to Medicaid, Grant County’s only hospital announced it was laying off nine staff members this week. The Blue Mountain Hospital District attributed the cuts to declining use of services, the rising costs of supply and labor, and “potential cuts to Medicaid in the One Big Beautiful Bill.” (Antonio Sierra)

Headlines from around the Northwest

• Kaiser Permanente workers vote 97% in favor of potential strike in Oregon, Southwest Washington (OPB staff) 

• Reynolds School District and employees still at odds over mid-year budget gap (Natalie Pate) 

• USDA resurrects popular farm-to-school program. Oregon group says it doesn’t make up for other federal cuts (Alejandro Figueroa) 

• Gluesenkamp Perez supports House bill to avoid partial government shutdown, but doesn’t vote (Kevin Freking) 

• Southern Oregon University approves new resilience plan to cut $10 million over 4 years (Jane Vaughan) 

• Pacific Northwest’s storied football rivalries illustrate post-realignment disparities (Anne M. Peterson)

Beaverton man breaks archery record with bare hands (and feet)

Last month, Beaverton engineer Alan Case fulfilled a lifelong dream.

On Aug. 24, at the Smith Creek Dry Lake Bed in Nevada, Case got onto his back and raised his legs while holding up a powerful cross-bow contraption known as a footbow that he built in his garage. With his bare feet and arms, he drew back the string with all his strength, straining to control about 300 pounds of force.

With a loud twang, the bow string released, shooting the arrow from the bow at a speed of more than 800 feet per second.

His arrow landed more than a mile away: 2,043 yards, 1 foot, 7 inches to be exact, which is 46.6 feet farther than the record that had remained unbroken since 1971.

This quest was more than a project for Case, more than a hobby. It could justifiably be called a lifelong obsession. (Ian McCluskey)

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