{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-2-2-16-8","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 2, § 2-16-8","heading":"Forestry Division - Appointment of forestry employees -","body":"Powers and duties - Entry upon lands - Arrests, etc.\n\nA. The Forestry Division of the Oklahoma Department of\n\nAgriculture, Food, and Forestry, in connection with the enforcement\n\nof the Oklahoma Forestry Code, shall have the following powers,\n\nauthority, and duties:\n\n1. To enforce the provisions of this code and other forest and\n\nforest protection laws of this state;\n\n2. To prevent, mitigate, detect, suppress, and investigate\n\nwildfires in this state;\n\n3. To provide wildland firefighting crews, who shall be under\n\nthe control and direction of forest rangers and other designated\n\nagents of the Division;\n\n4. To appoint district foresters, investigators, rangers, and\n\nother employees;\n\n5. To use the resources of the Division on state-owned parks\n\nand other state-administered land to prevent and suppress wildfires,\n\nto mitigate hazardous wildland fuels, and to establish wildland\n\nfirefighting crews, who shall be authorized to suppress wildfires on\n\nstate land;\n\n6. To be reimbursed on an actual cost basis for all services\n\nprovided to state parks and other land administered by the State of\n\nOklahoma;\n\n7. To investigate cases of forest timber theft;\n\n8. To make available for sale surplus state vehicles directly\n\nto rural fire departments or municipal fire departments, in cities\n\nor towns under ten thousand (10,000) population. State vehicles may\n\nbe offered for sale only after approval is given in writing by the\n\nOffice of Management and Enterprise Services and an evaluation is\n\nmade of each vehicle and a price set by the Office of Management and\n\nEnterprise Services. The Forestry Division may only receive the\n\namount authorized by the Office of Management and Enterprise\n\nServices for the sale of the vehicle;\n\n9. To purchase equipment from the Rural Fire Defense Equipment\n\nRevolving Fund's inventory, when advantageous to the state, and to\n\nreimburse the Revolving Fund; and\n\n10. To plan and conduct prescribed burning at the request and\n\nexpense of landowners on public or private land for the purpose of\n\ncontrolling invasive or exotic species, for hazardous fuel\n\nreduction, wildlife habitat manipulation, ecosystem restoration, or\n\nachieving silvicultural objectives. Forestry Division employees\n\nshall be protected under The Governmental Tort Claims Act and shall\n\nnot be personally liable beyond the limits established therein for\n\nactivities pursuant to this paragraph unless gross negligence is\n\nestablished in a competent court of law.\n\nB. Forest rangers, and the firefighting crews under their\n\ncontrol and direction, may enter upon any land for the purpose of\n\npreventing and suppressing wildfires and to enforce the provisions\n\nof the Oklahoma Forestry Code and other wildfire and forest\n\nprotection laws of this state.\n\nC. Forest rangers, employees of the Division, and all persons\n\nunder contract or agreement with the Division to assist in\n\nfirefighting operations, as well as persons called upon by forest\n\nrangers or other authorized employees of the Division to assist in\n\nfirefighting under the direction or supervision of employees of the\n\nDivision, may, in the performance of their duties, set backfires,\n\ndig trenches, construct control lines, and carry on all customary\n\nactivities in the fighting of wildfires without incurring liability\n\nto any person.\n\nD. Under the direction of forest rangers and upon written\n\nconsent of the landowner, county officers and employees may, in the\n\nperformance of their duties and without incurring liability to any\n\nperson, construct control lines and carry out all customary\n\nactivities for conducting prescribed burns to mitigate hazardous\n\nwildland fuels to prevent wildfires on private lands.\n\nE. Upon written consent from a landowner or designated agent,\n\nforest rangers, in the performance of their duties and without\n\nincurring liability to any person, may construct control lines,\nle 2. Agriculture Page 582\n\nperson, construct control lines and carry out all customary\n\nactivities for conducting prescribed burns to mitigate hazardous\n\nwildland fuels to prevent wildfires on private lands.\n\nE. Upon written consent from a landowner or designated agent,\n\nforest rangers, in the performance of their duties and without\n\nincurring liability to any person, may construct control lines,\n\ncarry out all customary activities for conducting prescribed burns,\n\nand utilize mechanized equipment to reduce hazardous wildland fuels\n\nin order to mitigate or reduce the effects of wildfires on lives,\n\nproperty, forests, and natural resources on private and public lands\n\nin this state.\n\n1. The Director of the Forestry Division may appoint, subject\n\nto the approval of the State Board of Agriculture, special officers\n\nwho shall have the power and authority to arrest. The special\n\nofficers shall have power and authority throughout the state, under\n\nthe direction and control of the Division, to enforce the criminal\n\nprovisions contained in the Oklahoma Forestry Code, other laws\n\nrelating to forests and wildfires and the Oklahoma Agricultural\n\nCode.\n\n2. The special officers shall have power and authority to make\n\narrests with or without warrants for violations of the criminal\n\nprovisions of the Oklahoma Forestry Code, other laws relating to\n\nforests and wildfires and the Oklahoma Agricultural Code to the same\n\nextent and under the same limitations and duties as peace officers\n\nunder the provisions of Chapter 3 of Title 22 of the Oklahoma\n\nStatutes.\n\n3. In connection with the enforcement of the criminal\n\nprovisions, the special officers and other state investigators or\n\nlaw enforcement officers may go upon all premises when necessary for\n\nthe enforcement of laws. All special officers shall be ex officio\n\nforest rangers and shall be under the control and direction of the\n\nDivision; except, the Director may at any time, for cause, remove\n\nany powers and authority of arrest conferred. Special officers\n\nshall have the same right and authority to carry arms as the\n\nsheriffs of this state. The compensation of special officers shall\n\nbe fixed and paid by the Division from its funds.","path":["OK Code","Title 2"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os2.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"1fff0f1d3aebb0585ba5edcedec73a8b4016cb552fd090d924ca243e9932f72a","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-2-2-16-74","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-2-2-16-81"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}