BY PEPPER FISHER
Port Angeles – Two people fighting the Bear Gulch fire were arrested by federal law enforcement Wednesday, and 42 firefighters were escorted off of federal lands because the companies they were working for had their federal contracts terminated following an investigation by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
No details were released about the criminal investigation.
Federal officials say that on Wednesday, agents from the BLM, the U.S. Forest Service and Border Patrol carried out an operation at the wildfire site in Mason County. A news release Thursday from US Customs and Border Patrol says the work crews, totaling 44 men and women, required identity verification to ensure that the individuals on-site matched the contractor rosters.
They said several discrepancies were identified, and two individuals were found to be present in the US illegally, one with a previous order of removal. The two people arrested were transported to the Bellingham Station on charges of illegal entry. 42 firefighters were released from the scene and escorted off federal lands.
The contractors whose contracts were terminated were identified as ASI Arden Solutions, Inc. and Table Rock Forestry, Inc.
On Wednesday morning, before the actin was taken, there were six 20-person hand crews on the Bear Gulch fire, and five of those teams were working for private contractors.
The news release says, “The contract termination and enforcement action did not interfere with firefighting operations or the response to any active fires in the area, nor did it pose any danger to the surrounding community.”
(Photo provided by fire crew)