 1889 was a particularly bad year for fires in the region, and Boutelle's demands for more resources for firefighting, supported by conservationist George Bird Grinnell, caused Secretary of the Interior John Willock Noble to dismiss him from the superintendent's post on February 14, 1891.He returned to service with the 1st Cavalry's Company K.

Boutelle retired from the Army a second time on August 27, 1895, but immediately took up work with the Washington National Guard.In 1896 Gov.