Michael Boren requested more aircraft for 7-acre Cabin Creek fire, some of which were diverted from other fires

Michael Boren, the US undersecretary of agriculture for natural resources and environment who oversees the US Forest Service, reportedly pressed agency staff last month to deploy more aircraft to a 7-acre (2.8-hectare) fire that was burning near his Idaho ranch, according to a Washington Post report on Friday.

The Cabin Creek fire in Idaho began on about 12 July as a result of an unattended campfire, and spread across several acres in Idaho’s Sawtooth national forest. By 15 July, the forest service said that the fire was 100% contained.

In the Post report, a forest service official who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told the outlet that Boren, whom the Post reports owns a 480-acre ranch in the Sawtooth national recreation area, contacted forest service officials at the regional and national levels multiple times while the fire was burning, questioning why more aircraft were not being used to fight the blaze.