US Forest Service chief reportedly pressed staff to deploy extra aircraft for fire near his Idaho ranch

Michael Boren, the US Undersecretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment who oversees the US Forest Service, reportedly pressured agency staff to deploy additional aircraft to a small 7-acre wildfire burning near his private property in Idaho.

According to agency communications and current and former Forest Service officials, the Cabin Creek fire began on 12 July 2026 in the Sawtooth National Forest due to an unattended campfire. Boren, who owns a 480-acre ranch in the nearby Sawtooth National Recreation Area, repeatedly contacted regional and national operations leadership to question why more aircraft were not assigned to the blaze. Flight data reveals that approximately nine aircraft—including air tankers, tactical planes, and helicopters—were dispatched to the small fire, with some assets diverted from other active wildfires in Idaho.

Insiders noted that the emergency response was unusually heavy for a minor outbreak that ground crews could easily access and which posed no immediate threat to life or major infrastructure. In response, a spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture maintained that Boren merely reported the fire as any local landowner would and denied that he ordered or pressured staff to shift resources. The fire was fully contained by 15 July.