This story was originally posted on MyNorthwest.com
Federal immigration agents would be kept out of areas where firefighters are battling wildfires, under a local ordinance just introduced by Thurston County Commissioner Wayne Fournier.
This comes after U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested two firefighters who they said were in the country illegally and forced 42 other firefighters to leave the Bear Gulch wildfire. The federal government canceled contracts with the companies they worked for following a criminal investigation.
The timing and place of the arrests last month have raised eyebrows.
“I’ve been in the fire service for almost 30 years, and this is not business as usual,” Fournier told KIRO Newsradio.
Fournier pushed back against claims that the fire crews were not actually involved in fighting the fire at the time, because they were cutting logs.
“That’s alarming to me.” He said clearing brush, logs, and other potential fuel for the fire is a critical part of the battle. “You can’t say that they aren’t firefighters. Everybody plays an integral part, so anybody that you remove is going to have an effect on the operation.”
At the time, the Bear Gulch fire information officer said the removal of the firefighters did not interfere with firefighting activity.
But Fournier, who stressed his first-hand experience on wildland fire campaigns, wrote in an official statement about the incident, “It created a dangerous disruption to critical emergency operations.”
And he’s troubled that Border Patrol said it was the Bureau of Land Management that requested agents go to the Bear Gulch fire zone.
“The Bureau of Land Management has no jurisdiction in Bear Gulch. The nearest BLM-managed lands are hundreds of miles away in the San Juan Islands,” he stated.
Impact of Bear Gulch wildfire arrests
He worries the arrests might have a chilling effect on future firefighting efforts.
“How does it affect other crews that are thinking about participating in other operations?” he asked.
He pointed out, “People come from all over the world to participate in these fires, because they’re big—they’re beyond just our state’s resources.”
So, Fournier has introduced the Emergency Responder Protection and Enforcement Coordination Act.
It would designate active emergency operations as Non-Interference Zones.
“When you’re trying to save lives and property, it is not the time or the place to interfere,” he said.
Law enforcement that wants to contact first responders would be required to coordinate with the designated incident commander before taking action. And first responders would have to be guaranteed due process and ID protection, “regardless of background or employment status.”
It is unclear whether a local ordinance will have any real impact on federal agents. The county’s legal team is reviewing the proposal before commissioners consider adopting it in the coming weeks.
The Bear Gulch wildfire is now burning on more than 9,400 acres and is 10% contained. The fire had been at 13% containment. Rachel Lipski, public information officer for the Western Washington Type 3 Incident Management Team, told KIRO Newsradio the change was due to fire growth, not the result of having fewer firefighters on scene.
There are currently 200 firefighters battling the blaze.
Read more of Heather Bosch’s stories here.
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