The Chronicle
THURSTON COUNTY, Wash. — Thurston County commissioner and Aberdeen firefighter Wayne Fournier this week introduced the Emergency Responder Protection and Enforcement Coordination Act to the board, which approved sending the ordinance to the county legal team for review.
This came in response to an incident Aug. 27 when federal immigration authorities raided an active wildfire response on the Bear Gulch fire and reportedly arrested two firefighters, according to reporting by The Seattle Times. The federal government claims they were not firefighters, but were involved in other efforts.
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Once Fournier’s ordinance is reviewed by the legal team, it will come before the full board for adoption.
Fournier released an official statement on Wednesday regarding the Bear Gulch incident. Wildfire firefighters and agency staffers told Stateline.org that they believed the top officials assigned to the fire deployed the crews under “false pretenses” so federal agents could check their immigration status.
According to Fournier, the proposed ordinance would accomplish three things. It would designate active emergency operations as non-interference zones, require federal law enforcement to coordinate with the designated incident commander before taking any action, and guarantee due process and ID protections for all responders, regardless of background or employment status.
“What happened at the Bear Gulch Fire was not routine, and we should not pretend it was,” Fournier said in his statement. “I have spent nearly 30 years in the fire service, much of that time on wildland campaigns: sleeping on the ground for weeks at a time, moving from fire to fire, and working shoulder to shoulder with every kind of responder. On large incidents like Bear Gulch, personnel come from all over the world. Anyone who has been there knows it is not just hose teams. Fire camp operates like a small city, staffed by heavy equipment operators, medics, mechanics, cooks and contract fire crews. These individuals are all red card-certified to fight wildfires, all play a critical role in the response, and all are firefighters.”
Fournier addressed a statement from the Department of Homeland Security that criticized media reports and said the arrests made were of workers in “a support role,” not firefighters.
“To say that bucking logs or clearing brush is not firefighting shows a fundamental misunderstanding of wildland fire operations. Removing vegetation protects structures, widens fire lanes and improves access,” Fournier said. “This work is not just part of the job; it is essential to the mission. That is why what happened next was completely unacceptable. When CBP agents entered the Bear Gulch fire zone and detained personnel without coordination, without justification, and without identifying themselves, it created a dangerous disruption to critical emergency operations.
“The claim that these responders ‘were not real firefighters’ is either the result of willful ignorance or a deliberate attempt to mislead the public. I believe it is the latter,” he continued. “Even more troubling is that the federal agency defending this action, 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. Their press release read more like public relations spin than a serious explanation. Meanwhile, the state’s Incident Management Team, which is actually responsible for running the fire response, has yet to issue a public statement.”
The crews had been digging holding lines, working to protect structures and conducting mop-up work, according to daily Incident Action Plans filed by Team 7 and reported by Stateline.
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Fournier wrote that his statement is not about politics and rather about public safety.
“Scrutiny of CBP and ICE has occurred under every president, regardless of party. These agencies have long histories of civil liberties violations. When they operate in active emergency zones, transparency and accountability are not optional; they are essential,” he said. “We would not tolerate this kind of interference from private citizens or out-of-state officials. We must hold the federal government to the same standard, if not a higher one. Emergency scenes are already hazardous. Jurisdictional overreach only adds confusion, causes delays and increases risk to life and property.
“This is not about ideology or partisanship. It is about safety, professionalism and protecting the integrity of our emergency response system,” he added. “The alarm is sounding, not just about fire, but about federal overreach. Let us respond with clarity, courage and a firm commitment to protect those who protect us.”
The proposed ordinance said that federal agents arrested firefighters during an active wildfire response “without clear legal justification or identification” and that federal agents “operated in masks” and “refused to disclose badge numbers and allegedly used threatening language.” It also notes that Joe Biden -era protections for “sensitive locations” like disaster zones have “apparently been rescinded or ignored under the current administration.”
Fournier’s full statement is below:
What happened at the Bear Gulch Fire was not routine, and we should not pretend it was. I have spent nearly 30 years in the fire service, much of that time on wildland campaigns: sleeping on the ground for weeks at a time, moving from fire to fire, and working shoulder to shoulder with every kind of responder. On large incidents like Bear Gulch, personnel come from all over the world. Anyone who has been there knows it is not just hose teams. Fire camp operates like a small city, staffed by heavy equipment operators, medics, mechanics, cooks, and contract fire crews. These individuals are all red card certified to fight wildfires, all play a critical role in the response, and all are firefighters.
To say that bucking logs or clearing brush is not firefighting shows a fundamental misunderstanding of wildland fire operations. Removing vegetation protects structures, widens fire lines, and improves access. This work is not just part of the job; it is essential to the mission. That is why what happened next was completely unacceptable. When CBP agents entered the Bear Gulch fire zone and detained personnel without coordination, without justification, and without identifying themselves, it created a dangerous disruption to critical emergency operations.
The claim that these responders “were not real firefighters” is either the result of willful ignorance or a deliberate attempt to mislead the public. I believe it is the latter. Even more troubling is that the federal agency defending this action, 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. Their press release read more like public relations spin than a serious explanation. Meanwhile, the state’s Incident Management Team, which is actually responsible for running the fire response, has yet to issue a public statement.
Scrutiny of CBP and ICE has occurred under every president, regardless of party. This is not about politics. It is about public safety. These agencies have long histories of civil liberties violations. When they operate in active emergency zones, transparency and accountability are not optional; they are essential.
That is why today I introduced a local ordinance: Emergency Responder Protection and Enforcement Coordination Act. This ordinance will 1) designate active emergency operations as Non-Interference Zones, 2) require federal law enforcement to coordinate with the designated Incident Commander before taking any action, and 3) guarantee due process and ID protections for all responders, regardless of background or employment status.
The Thurston County Board approved sending this ordinance to our legal team for review before final adoption in the coming weeks. I am grateful to my fellow commissioners who are supporting this importance ordinance proposal.
We would not tolerate this kind of interference from private citizens or out-of-state officials. We must hold the federal government to the same standard, if not a higher one. Emergency scenes are already hazardous. Jurisdictional overreach only adds confusion, causes delays, and increases risk to life and property. This is not about ideology or partisanship. It is about safety, professionalism, and protecting the integrity of our emergency response system.
The alarm is sounding, not just about fire, but about federal overreach. Let us respond with clarity, courage, and a firm commitment to protect those who protect us.
Thank you,
Commissioner Wayne Fournier
Should federal immigration agents be required to coordinate with incident commanders before entering active disaster zones, or do they have a right to act independently?
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