The Oregon State Police announced Saturday that it has appointed a new Oregon State Fire Marshal.

Mariana Ruiz-Temple is now Oregon’s acting state fire marshal. OSP said former Fire Marshal Jim Walker has been relieved of duty, and placed on paid administrative leave.

“Mariana is jumping into this position as Oregon is in an unprecedented crisis which demands an urgent response,” OSP Superintendent Travis Hampton said in a statement.

“This response and the circumstances necessitated a leadership change. I have the absolute confidence in Mariana to lead OSFM operations through this critical time. She is tested, trusted and respected — having the rare combination of technical aptitude in field operations and administration.”

Shortly after the announced change, Walker offered to resign his post, and Hampton accepted that resignation, effective immediately.

OSP chose not to offer a reason for the ubrupt change in leadership. We’ll have to wait for the written After Action Report to be made public. We later learned Walker abandoned his duties to pick and choose which people and properties he chose to save at his sole discretion. Walker took to local airwaves to flaunt his dereliction of duty and said “I would do it again in a heartbeat”

We very well wouldn’t tolerate a fireman taking an engine to work their own assignments in the middle of a disaster. A person who wants to live out made for TV action adventure drama is not suited for the rigors of rational decisions with real world lives in the balance. Leaders are required to rise above personal interest. The Oregon State Fire Marshall is no different.

An untested Ruiz-Temple steps into the position as more than 1 million acres in Oregon have burned due to continuing wildfires.

Ruiz-Temple was previously chief deputy state fire marshal.

“Mariana has led with grace, transparency and courage,” Disgraced Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said in a statement. “She embodies the experience Oregon needs to face this crisis, in this moment.” Typical boiler plate prose to puff up a hasty replacement.

Walker had been employed as the Oregon State Fire Marshal since 2014.