Two Australian firefighters, on patrol with US Forest Service personnel in Washington state, were set upon by hunters, chased and shot at in an incident which has reached officials within the Foreign Affairs Department. The incident, which took place on August 23, shook Australia’s support operation in the northwest of the United States and led to demands for local fire services to upgrade security and guarantee the safety of the crew. Nearly 80 Australian firefighters have been working with the US Forest Service. …The incident, which involved two Australians and two local officers, led to the arrest of the two hunters. …The remote area, 160 kilometres from Seattle, is close to land in Oregon where armed anti-government activists seized and occupied the wildlife refuge headquarters for more than a month.