Members of Congress demand answers after firefighter arrests in Washington State
Fifty members of Congress, including several Washington Democrats, are calling on the Department of Homeland Security for answers after two crew members fighting the Bear Gulch fire were arrested by immigration officials.
Two people fighting the fire on the Olympic Peninsula were arrested by federal law enforcement Wednesday, as depicted in photos and videos. The two firefighters entered the U.S. illegally, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Thursday in a news release.
The 9,200-acre wildfire is one of Washington’s largest. The crews, pictured wearing protective clothing and hard hats common on fire lines, were part of the 300-person effort to contain the fire, which started July 6 about 10 miles northwest of Hoodsport, Mason County.
The arrests occurred after federal agents checked the IDs of two private contract firefighting crews who were sent to the northeast side of Lake Cushman. The detainment of the two firefighters received swift backlash from elected leaders across the Northwest and nationwide.
Fifty members of Congress questioned the action in a letter Friday to DHS, CBP and the Bureau of Land Management.
“The two arrests and dozens of firefighters temporarily sidelined during an active wildfire raise questions about the priorities and (judgment) exercised by federal agencies,” reads the letter, spearheaded by U.S. Rep. Emily Randall. Randall’s congressional district includes the Olympic Peninsula, where the fire is burning. [Continue reading…]