SEATTLE — Lawyers are demanding the release of a longtime Oregon resident arrested by the U.S. Border Patrol while fighting a Washington state wildfire, saying that the firefighter was on track for legal status after helping federal investigators solve a crime against his family.

His arrest was illegal, the lawyers said Friday, and violated Department of Homeland Security policies that say immigration enforcement must not be conducted at locations where emergency responses are happening.

He is one of two firefighters arrested last week while working the Bear Gulch fire in the Olympic National Forest, which as of Friday had burned about 14 square miles and was only 13% contained, forcing evacuations.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement Thursday that it had been helpi

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