Senators demand probe into official accused of diverting wildfire resources

Bend, Ore. (KTVZ) --- Three U.S. senators are demanding an investigation into Michael Boren, undersecretary of agriculture for natural resources and environment, following allegations that he diverted federal firefighting resources to suppress a small fire near his private ranch in Idaho.

In a letter sent to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, lawmakers raised concerns over Boren's alleged involvement in redirecting firefighters and aircraft to the seven-acre Cabin Creek Fire. The incident occurred during a record wildfire season in Oregon, where firefighting personnel and equipment remain scarce.

Earlier this month, Boren allegedly used his position to pressure U.S. Forest Service personnel to direct resources toward the Cabin Creek Fire, a seven-acre blaze near his 480-acre ranch in Idaho's Sawtooth National Forest. Nine aircraft were assigned to the fire, an unusually high number of resources for a blaze of that size.

The resource allocation occurred while Oregon was facing shortages of firefighting personnel and equipment following federal funding and staffing cuts. During a record wildfire season in the state, blazes far larger than seven acres that directly threatened lives and homes received a fraction of that aviation support.

Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, and Martin Heinrich, D-New Mexico, serve as ranking members on the Senate Committee on Finance, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, respectively. In their joint letter, the lawmakers warned of the broader safety risks posed by improper resource allocation.

“Mr. Boren's actions constitute potentially a misuse of taxpayer funds and put American families at further risk by diverting scarce resources from high-priority wildfires threatening communities elsewhere in the region and country,” the senators wrote. “We request a full investigation into the nature and extent of Boren's involvement in response to the Cabin Creek Fire and a detailed accounting of the safeguards the agency has implemented or plans to implement to prevent political interference and conflicts of interest in wildfire response.”

The lawmakers asked USDA Rollins to outline how the department will prevent future interference by officials for personal gain. They also requested that the findings of any department investigation into the Cabin Creek Fire response be provided to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.