r/Wildfire • u/mittenborn • 2d ago

Bear Gulch immigration raid

Hey r/Wildfire — I'm a Seattle-based reporter working on a story about the immigration raid at the Bear Gulch Fire. Hoping to get more info from anyone who's been out there or has an account of what happened. Also looking for insight about the larger implications of immigration enforcement at active wildfires. I can talk off the record or on background with anyone who's willing to share. Please PM me if you'd like to connect. Thanks!

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168

u/elsordo69 2d ago

If any feds are thinking about speaking to the press, please consider reaching out to your union first. They can help you navigate the process to keep your job safe.

61

u/mittenborn 2d ago

Yes, please take whatever steps you need to to protect your job. Again, I can connect anonymously if that enables anyone to speak more freely.

41

u/NoSuddenMoves 2d ago

Fire is a small world and any info at all could be used to identify a source.

If you were Naomi ishitaka with seatle times rather than anonymous reddit reporter I would have more faith in people speaking with you.

I would recommend calling the pio of the fire and going through official channels. I assure you that 99% of fire personnel are on the side of the crew members.

38

u/TeaCrusher Tiny iAttack Helicopter (R4) 2d ago

Team PIO is going to push the teams take, which was "we were aware of of federal agents, and it didn't effect our efforts"... But the truth is that federal agents arresting folks on an active fire completely dissolve worker trust in leadership.

As individuals, we can speak freely about the event(without speaking on behalf of an agency). A PIO is a political position, and limited to the agencies take on the event.

11

u/Earth_Muffin2 2d ago

It's a new team on the incident as of this morning. CA team 7 has demobed and handed the incident over to a Western WA type 3 team. CA team 7 had command of the fire when the arrests were made. The current team was not involved and the PIO is directing all questions to CBP.

3

u/ProtestantMormon 1d ago

PIOs are going to deflect, regardless of what team was in charge.