Michael Boren reportedly asks why more aircraft were not used on a fire near his Idaho ranch

Six officials told Post that response to 7-acre Idaho fire exceeded what is typical

The Washington Post reported on Friday that Michael Boren, the US undersecretary of agriculture for natural resources and environment who oversees the US Forest Service, contacted Forest Service officials at both the regional and national levels multiple times last month while the 7-acre Cabin Creek fire burned in Idaho’s Sawtooth National Forest, questioning why more aircraft were not being deployed against the blaze near his ranch. The Post reports Boren owns a 480-acre ranch in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area.

A US Department of Agriculture spokesperson disputed that characterization on Friday, putting the denial next to the specific allegation it answers. The spokesperson said: “Mike Boren is expected to have regular contact with the agencies he oversees. The fact that a senior government official would be monitoring and communicating with other government officials about an event he oversees is a non-story. Under Secretary Boren did report a fire that was near property he owns, just as one would hope any citizen in an area under threats from wildfires would do. However, at no point did he pressure leadership or order more resources to fight this or any other fire.”

The Cabin Creek fire began around July 12 from an unattended campfire, spread across several acres in the Sawtooth National Forest, and was 100% contained by July 15, according to the Forest Service.

The Post said six current and former Forest Service officials told the newspaper that the response was greater than is typical for a fire of its size and that the officials described the blaze as posing no significant threat to life or property. One Forest Service official who spoke on the condition of anonymity told the Post the response was unusual. The Post said it reviewed communications sent during the response, which it said corroborated that Boren personally contacted Forest Service staff. A flight-path analysis the Post conducted — corroborated, the Post reported, by two agency officials who spoke to the newspaper — found about nine aircraft, including helicopters, air tankers, and tactical planes, responded to the blaze on July 12, and that at least some of those aircraft were diverted from efforts to contain other fires in Idaho.