Trump official faces inquiry over claims he diverted wildfire resources to his own property

Donald Trump’s administration is facing calls to launch an investigation into allegations that Michael Boren, a senior official who oversees the US Forest Service, pressed agency staff to deploy additional resources to fight a fire burning near his Idaho ranch.Three Democratic senators accused Boren of “inappropriate interference” in a letter seen by the Guardian, demanding answers from Brooke Rollins, US agricultural secretary. Boren serves as undersecretary of agriculture for natural resources and environment.Senators Ron Wyden, Amy Klobuchar and Martin Heinrich expressed “serious concern” over reports that Boren used his federal government position in July to remove firefighting personnel and resources from active fires elsewhere to tackle a fire near his private ranch in Idaho.“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,” they wrote.Their letter follows a report from the Washington Post earlier this month, in which several forest service officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that Boren – who reportedly owns a 480-acre ranch in the Sawtooth national recreation area – contacted forest service officials multiple times in mid-July to question why more aircraft were not being used to fight the Cabin Creek Fire in Idaho, which spread across several acres in Idaho’s Sawtooth National Forest.The fire began on 12 July, as a result of an unattended campfire and was 100% contained by 15 July. It reportedly ultimately burned seven acres.Six current and former forest service officials described the response to the fire to the Post as greater than would typically be expected for a fire of that size, which posed no significant threat to life or property. Communications reviewed by the Post also reportedly confirmed that Boren personally contacted forest service staff about the fire.The USDA did not respond to a request for comment on the senators’ letter.In a statement last month to the Guardian responding to the initial report, a USDA spokesperson said Boren “is expected to have regular contact with the agencies he oversees” and 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”.“Undersecretary 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,” they said. “However, at no point did he pressure leadership or order more resources to fight this or any other fire.”In the letter from the Democratic senators, sent on Thursday, they wrote that “during this record setting fire season, fires of much larger size have not received even a fraction of the same commitment of resources”.“The personal interests of political employees should not be a factor that influences the allocation of wildfire resources to communities threatened with devastation,” they added.They argued that Boren’s reported “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”.“Political interference in wildfire response jeopardizes lives, property and federal resources,” they wrote. “We request that you respond by September 10th detailing how the Department will prevent this type of inappropriate interference, or even the appearance of it, in wildfire response going forward.”