Gov. Stitt stands by firing some Forestry Service staff members
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Governor Stitt said he's standing by his firings of staff from the Forestry Service after the March deadly fires.
Several fire crews have now called for an independent investigation into what happened and what the state could do better.
'It's tough to believe anything – he's been fact-checked several times by fire departments and the media and his facts have been incorrect. So right now you just can't believe anything that comes out of the governor's office,' said Fire Chief Jason Dobson of the Olive Volunteer Fire Dept.
His department was one of the first to share the Change.org petition which called for Governor Stitt's impeachment.
'I know he's not going to get impeached, we know that,' said Chief Dobson. 'We just hope he sees this and does something different than what he's doing. Oklahomans in the fire service are not happy with what he's done. We're upset.'
'If the governor can't fire the head of the forestry, who can?,' said Gov. Stitt.
Stitt didn't seem to be going back on any firings or statements he had made in weeks past. However this week he did seem to go back on his offering to get rid of the Department of Forestry as a whole.
This week House Speaker Kyle Hilbert (R-Bristow) said that the governor seems to be misinterpreting the data. The governor didn't seem to agree.
'When you're not sending half of your resources to those fires, you're doing something wrong,' said Gov. Stitt. 'I don't know how anybody can argue with me, maybe the media will, but I don't think Oklahomans will. If you have assets and they weren't deployed to these fires, that's the problem'
Wednesday Cherokee Nation Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. spoke on the House floor against moves made by the governor surrounding the Forestry Service Dept.
Bill aimed at saving Oklahoma pharmacies, could increase price of prescriptions
'We have got to keep the Oklahoma Forestry Department alive and well, we need it and you need it,' said Chief Hoskin Jr.
The governor was pressed Wednesday also on things he could've done differently like a statewide burn ban or a Public Safety Power Shutoff, several other states do something similar.
You knew about the dangers way in advance of that Friday so why didn't you act? Do you not take any blame at all for what happened?
'Yeah ultimately the governor is responsible that's why I'm taking action now,' said Gov. Stitt. 'And I don't think it's practical for the governor to say hey, I'm going to shut off your power.'
He is standing by his actions and said that his new Wildland Fire Response Team is expected to have results and a sort of presentation in 30 days on what the state could do better.
Chief Dobson argued that they need to do an outside investigation and bring in experts who aren't appointed by Gov. Stitt.
'We're not happy, he needs to know that we're upset,' said Chief Dobson.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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