Michael Boren, the USDA undersecretary who oversees the US Forest Service, reportedly pressed agency staff repeatedly last month to send more aircraft to the Cabin Creek fire, a 7-acre blaze burning in Idaho's Sawtooth National Forest near his own 480-acre ranch. The fire, sparked by an unattended campfire around July 12, was fully contained by July 15.
Six current and former Forest Service officials told the Washington Post the aerial response was disproportionate for a small fire posing no significant threat to life or property. The Post's flight-path analysis found about nine aircraft, including helicopters and air tankers, responding on July 12, with at least some diverted from other Idaho fires burning at the time.
A USDA spokesperson insisted Boren merely reported a fire near his property like any concerned citizen, and did not pressure leadership or order additional resources.
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