LAKE CUSHMAN, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Two firefighters working to tamp down one of the state’s largest wildfires have been arrested by federal officials.
The Seattle Times reports that the arrests happened on Wednesday, as two contracted crews from Oregon prepared to cut down trees near the Bear Gulch Fire.
Crewmembers said that federal law enforcement in Customs and Border Protection (CBP) vehicles ordered them to stop working so they could verify their identities. Some told the Times that they were instructed by the CBP officers not to take videos as two firefighters were taken into custody.
They were later transported to the CBP office in Bellingham.
In a statement, CBP said that they were working with the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to terminate the two crews’ contracts.
The federal agency didn’t list a reason for their investigation, but U.S. Border Patrol in Blaine said that BLM had been looking into timecard fraud allegations.
Federal policy from the Biden administration generally advises border protection agents not to conduct any work in active natural disaster areas, but it’s unclear if that policy remains in effect.
The Bear Gulch Fire was sparked on July 6 in the Olympic National Forest near Lake Cushman and has burned over 9000 acres.
