The fires, exacerbated by extremely dry air and strong straight-line winds, killed four people, injured hundreds and destroyed more than 400 homes — including one owned by the governor near Luther.
Goeller is resigning, but Stitt made it clear the departure has to do with his feelings on the Oklahoma Forestry Services’ wildfire response.
“He’s the head of the forestry department, and we had a horrible, horrible wildfire in the State of Oklahoma, and I didn’t think they did a really good job,” Stitt said at a press conference Wednesday.
Retired firefighter Steve Day disagrees. He was with the Woodward Fire Department for nearly four decades and served as its chief for 11 years. Day said he believes Stitt made a “huge mistake” in blaming Goeller for the wildfire response.
“If he thinks that the Forestry Service could have done more in this event, I'd like to see that information,” Day said. “And I think firefighters across the state would like to see that information as what he thinks could be done differently.”
Stitt’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request to clarify what he didn’t like about the wildfire response. The fire destroyed more than 400 homes, including one owned by the governor near Luther.
Like Day, Tulsa Fire Department Captain Shawn Clark said Goeller’s departure from OFS is a loss.
“Mark is an outstanding leader, and Mark's knowledge is also outstanding,” Clark said. “I mean, Mark has presented his thoughts on wildland fire management before Congress… and that's pretty rare.”
Goeller has roughly 40 years of forestry experience and has worked as Oklahoma’s State Forester since 2018.
His professional biography includes membership in several professional organizations. He testified before a Congressional panel chaired by Congressman Frank Lucas about enhancing fire weather prediction and coordination in 2023.
“His leadership brought real, measurable improvements to wildfire response,” former Seminole Fire Chief Fielding Lucas said in a post on Facebook. “He provided training, wildland PPE, and vital equipment to rural departments across the state—many of which would otherwise be operating with next to nothing. His efforts gave small, volunteer-based departments a fighting chance.”
Stitt was out of the state during much of the wildfire response, as was Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell. That left Senate Pro Tem (and former volunteer firefighter) Lonnie Paxton as acting governor.
When KOSU asked Paxton his thoughts on the Forestry Services’ wildfire response, he said he didn’t have any.
“It's the governor's decision whether he wants to keep people in certain positions or not,” Paxton said. “That one is under his purview.”
Clark authored a much-shared post on Facebook urging people to call Stitt’s office and “demand respect for professionalism and competence.”
“I just want the governor to realize that Mark has a lot of support within the state of Oklahoma and outside the state,” Clark said. “I don't think he's well-informed. I really don't think we could get anybody better right now.”
Day also said Goeller will be hard to replace.
“The governor's gonna have a hard time finding somebody that will fill those shoes, knowing what happened to a person like Mark Goeller, who was dedicated to the job, that had the experience and was doing everything he could with the funds available to make this as safe as possible,” Day said.
The Governor’s office has not announced a new State Forester. Goeller’s last day is Monday, according to the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry.
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
