Oregon’s fire marshal resigned Saturday just hours after the state’s governor placed him on administrative leave. The Oregon State Police declined to release reasons for Jim Walker’s suspension, but The Oregonian reported that Walker had largely relinquished his responsibilities to his chief deputy, Mariana Ruiz-Temple, and that Superintendent Travis Hampton, his immediate superior, had lost confidence in him. Hampton appointed Ruiz-Temple acting fire marshal in his stead. Local Oregon politicians had made multiple public statements that the state had failed to coordinate a unified response to the fires. Hampton said in a statement, “Mariana is assuming this position as Oregon is in an unprecedented crisis which demands an urgent response. This response and the circumstances necessitated a leadership change.” Historic blazes, the largest of any recorded fire season, have devastated Oregon in the past week, incinerating entire rural towns and killing at least seven people.
