<div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn" data-testid="companionColumn-0"><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Gov. Bob Ferguson of Washington said on Thursday that his office was demanding an explanation from federal officials for Border Patrol’s decision to arrest workers who were fighting a wildfire in the state.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Mr. Ferguson, a Democrat, said in a statement that he was “deeply concerned” that the Trump administration had targeted firefighters trying to contain the Bear Gulf fire in Olympic National Forest, west of Seattle. Firefighting officials said the Border Patrol’s operation on Wednesday, first reported by The Seattle Times, had not interrupted efforts to control the blaze.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">In a separate statement, Border Patrol said its agents had made the arrests after the Bureau of Land Management asked for help verifying the identities of 44 people who were working on contractor crews near the fire. The agents identified two workers who were in the country illegally and arrested them, according to the statement.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">The other 42 workers were escorted from the site.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">President Trump’s signature domestic policy <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/12/us/politics/ice-expansion-concerns.html" title="">legislation</a>, which was passed earlier this year, set aside $170 billion to boost enforcement of immigration laws, in part by hiring more immigration officers and increasing raids on workplaces. Mr. Trump has cast the effort as part of a broader attempt to reduce violent crime, which he claims is ruining life in <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/28/us/politics/trump-chicago-immigration-naval-base.html" title="">major American cities</a>, despite evidence that crime rates are down in many of the cities he has targeted.</p></div><aside aria-label="companion column" class="css-ew4tgv"></aside></div><div data-testid="Dropzone-1"></div><div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn" data-testid="companionColumn-1"><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Mr. Trump has made it clear that he considers no workplace exempt from immigration enforcement. But the arrests on Wednesday appeared to deviate from past government policy that made exceptions for people dealing with disasters like hurricanes, floods and earthquakes.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">During the 2021 wildfire season, <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.dhs.gov/publication/dhs-statement-safety-and-immigration-enforcement-during-2021-wildfire-season#:~:text=Absent%20exigent%20circumstances%2C%20immigration%20enforcement%20will%20not,or%20water%2C%20or%20registration%20sites%20for%20disaster%2Drelated" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="">the Department of Homeland Security, under President Joe Biden, said</a> that immigration enforcement would not be conducted in places where emergency relief was being provided, “absent exigent circumstances.” In the past, federal immigration agents have sometimes assisted firefighters <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/border-patrol-agents-assist-fire-evacuations" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="">with evacuation efforts</a>.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">The Bear Gulch fire was 13 percent contained as of Wednesday evening, officials said <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1AwEFSonR8/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="">in an update</a>. High temperatures and dry conditions have fueled what has been one of the <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/16/weather/california-fire-season-forecast.html" title="">worst wildfire seasons</a> in the American West. Parts of Washington State were <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://forecast.weather.gov/wwamap/wwatxtget.php?cwa=usa&amp;wwa=Red%20Flag%20Warning'" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="">under a red flag warning</a> early Thursday, and many roads, trails and campfires inside Olympic National Forest were closed.</p><p class="css-798hid etfikam0">Christine Hauser<!-- --> and <!-- -->Mike Ives<!-- --> contributed reporting.</p></div><aside aria-label="companion column" class="css-ew4tgv"></aside></div><div data-testid="RelatedLinksBlock-3"><div data-testid="lazy-loader"></div></div>