The Department of Homeland Security has some explaining to do, following the arrests last week of two firefighters working at the 9,000-plus-acre Bear Gulch fire.
Still unanswered is why, during a dangerous late-summer wildfire, it was necessary to remove the pair, along with 42 other crew members, who were performing important hazard reduction work. The public deserves to know.
Federal authorities should answer some key questions: First, what was the underlying investigation and rationale for removing two Oregon-based companies working on the fire? And second, why did alleged immigration violations trump the importance of fighting a wildfire that could threaten the communities around Lake Cushman?
The confrontation also left existing crews “shaken” and “intimidated,” The Times reported.
Taking the eye off the ball of the largest fire in the Olympics in 75 years — any distraction, and particularly one that is chilling to the men and women doing the work — is unwise.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the actions were the culmination of a yet-to-be released Bureau of Land Management investigation terminating two Oregon-based contractors, ASI Arden Solutions Inc. and Table Rock Forestry Inc., working at the fire. Along with the arrests, 42 people were escorted off the site, where they had been working to reduce fuels and hazards around the northeast side of Lake Cushman.
The reduction in force may go against existing department guidelines, as a 2021 memo from the Department of Homeland Security specifically precludes immigration enforcement at wildfires, “absent exigent circumstances.”
“ … The outcome — Armed enforcement officers detaining firefighters in the middle of an emergency response — makes clear that this quickly escalated beyond a matter of contract compliance,” a letter, signed by congressional members including Rep. Emily Randall, D-Bremerton, declared.
A lawyer for one of the people arrested also told The Associated Press that his arrest was not appropriate — that the man, in the U.S. for nearly 20 years, was on track for a visa because he’d helped federal investigators solve a crime against his family.
The human-caused Bear Gulch fire is the biggest blaze in the Olympic Mountains since 1951. Though set on the “wet” side of Washington, its lush, fuel-rich forests are growing drier and hotter due to a changing climate, particularly in late summer. And while wildland firefighters have vowed a full suppression strategy, the steep terrain has made it too dangerous for firefighters to tackle head on. Since its inception, crews have been working to defend existing homes and structures, including within Staircase Campground.
Several federal agencies appear to have prioritized immigration enforcement above that of emergency response activities containing a potentially dangerous, late-season wildfire.
Chief Patrol Agent Rosario P. Vasquez, head of the Blaine-based sector, put it this way: “U.S. Border Patrol steadfastly enforces the laws of the United States and unapologetically addresses violations of immigration law wherever they are encountered.”
No. There should be limits when it’s a precarious, seesawing wildfire that threatens forest, property and, if the conditions worsen, human life. Vasquez and others within the Department of Homeland Security owe the public further explanation.
