Wildland firefighters in Washington state are reeling after a dramatic and controversial federal immigration raid disrupted an active wildfire response, resulting in the arrest of two firefighters and sidelining crews for hours. The incident, which unfolded on August 27, 2025, during the battle against the Bear Gulch Fire in and around Olympic National Park, has sent shockwaves through the firefighting community, ignited political debate, and raised urgent questions about the intersection of immigration enforcement and public safety.
According to Stateline, nearly a dozen firefighters, agency staffers, and contractors familiar with the incident believe that the top officials overseeing the fire response—namely, the California Interagency Incident Management Team 7—played a pivotal role in facilitating the raid. The team, comprising federal, state, and local fire professionals, was tasked with managing the Bear Gulch fire, which has scorched 9,000 acres of rugged terrain. Many in the wildfire community allege that Team 7 leaders sent two contracted crews to a remote staging area under false pretenses, effectively setting a trap for federal immigration authorities to check their status.
"There’s really no way [the wildfire management team] could not have been involved," said Riva Duncan, a former wildland fire chief with more than 30 years’ experience in the U.S. Forest Service, as quoted by Stateline. "We’re all talking about it. People are wondering if they go on a fire with this team, if that could happen to them." The sense of betrayal among firefighters is palpable. One firefighter present during the raid told Stateline, "I felt beyond betrayed. What they did was messed up. They’d been talking in their briefings about building relationships and trust. For them to say that and then go do this is mind-boggling. It boiled my blood."
The raid began when the two private contractor crews—employees of Table Rock Forestry Inc. and ASI/Arden Solutions Inc.—were ordered to a staging area to cut firewood for the local community. After waiting for instructions, the crews were met instead by unmarked law enforcement vehicles. Federal agents, including U.S. Border Patrol and officials from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), spent about three hours questioning the firefighters and checking their immigration status. Videos posted to social media and reported by USA TODAY showed yellow-shirted firefighters being handcuffed amid stacks of downed trees—images that quickly fueled public outrage.
In total, 42 other workers were removed from the property, questioned, and released. Two firefighters were arrested for being in the country illegally. According to Isa Peña, director of strategy at Innovation Law Lab, one of the arrested men has lived in the United States since the age of four and has served as a firefighter for three years. He has been waiting since 2017 for a response to his U-visa application, a program designed to protect victims of serious crimes who assist federal investigators. Peña told Stateline, "Conducting immigration enforcement while brave members of our community are risking their lives to protect us is really disgusting."
The official justification for the raid remains murky. CBP stated in a press release that its agents assisted the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in a criminal investigation related to time card fraud. However, multiple wildfire veterans and contractors, including Scott Polhamus of the Organization of Fire Contractors and Affiliates, said the supposed fraud amounted to a minor half-hour discrepancy on a time sheet—a common occurrence in the chaotic, long-hour environment of wildfire response. "This is not the first time a crew has been called on the carpet for maybe padding their time a bit," Duncan remarked to Stateline. "You deal directly with the company. It’s just absolutely mind-boggling to treat it as a criminal issue."
Despite the government’s claim that the companies’ contracts were terminated, Polhamus clarified that while the crews were demobilized and sent home, the contracts themselves had not been officially canceled. Federal officials did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Stateline and USA TODAY regarding the specifics of the investigation or the coordination with Team 7.
The raid’s timing and execution have drawn condemnation from elected officials and wildfire veterans alike. Washington Governor Bob Ferguson, a Democrat, expressed his concerns publicly, stating, "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." Senator Patty Murray, also a Democrat, was even more pointed, telling USA TODAY, "This administration’s immigration policy is fundamentally sick. Trump has wrongly detained lawful green card holders and even CITIZENS. No one should assume this was necessary. These firefighters put their lives on the line for us ALL and Trump is detaining them."
Federal officials have maintained that the arrests did not disrupt ongoing firefighting efforts. However, those on the ground and many wildfire veterans strongly disagree. Duncan told Stateline, "Whoever made that statement doesn’t understand the work. To take two crews off of a fire that’s only 13% contained, that seems ridiculous at that point in a fire. That does seem very unusual." The sense of fear and distrust among fire crews has only grown, with some expressing reluctance to deploy for fear of becoming targets of immigration enforcement.
The incident also highlights the broader challenges facing wildfire response in the West. As USA TODAY reported, many fire departments have struggled to hire enough wildland firefighters, leading to increased reliance on private contractors—many of whom employ a diverse workforce, including immigrants and foreign workers on H-2B visas. Wildfire forecasters predict above-normal fire conditions for much of the West in the coming weeks, with wildfire starts already at 120% of average through July, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
For many in the wildfire community, the raid represents a dangerous breach of trust and a departure from longstanding protocol. Fire zones are typically closed, secure areas with roadblocks, and it is nearly unheard of for federal agents to enter without coordination from the incident management team. Duncan told Stateline, "Fire areas are officially closed, very secure and there are roadblocks. Somebody would have had to tell these agents how to get there." The fact that the raid took place on Team 7’s final day in charge—just before a Washington-based team took over—has only deepened suspicions about the team’s role.
On online forums and social media, anger has boiled over. Many firefighters feel that the actions of Team 7 have undermined the core values of wildland firefighting: duty, respect, and integrity. "Utmost in that is taking care of your people. If you can’t trust the people you’re working with when things get hairy, that’s a concern," Duncan emphasized.
As investigations continue and calls for accountability grow louder, the Bear Gulch Fire raid has become a flashpoint in the ongoing debate over immigration enforcement, public safety, and the treatment of those who risk their lives to protect communities from disaster. The fallout from this incident is likely to reverberate through fire camps, government agencies, and political circles for months to come.
