Utah senators, BLM discuss fires

WASHINGTON — Utah's U.S. senators met with acting Bureau of Land Management Director Jim Hughes Wednesday to discuss federal help in battling wildfires.

Sen. Orrin Hatch and Sen. Bob Bennett, both R-Utah, along with nine other Western state senators met as a group with Hughes to discuss the fires in their states. Six fires are burning in Utah.

"We want to ensure that every resource available is brought to bear against the fires and to help these communities recover," Hatch said in a statement. "These infernos threaten to destroy our communities and local economies all across Utah."

Congress has appropriated $1.5 billion to pay for Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management efforts to fight wild-land fires on Federal lands this year, according to Hatch's office. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will cover 75 percent of the costs state and local governments will incur fighting the Milford Flat fire.