Orrin Hatch: “I rise today to honor of the thousands of firefighters who, in recent weeks, have literally put themselves in the line…”

“I rise today to honor of the thousands of firefighters who, in recent weeks, have literally put themselves in the line of fire to protect our communities and rural economies from countless wildfires throughout the western United States. For the second year in a row, western States have been plagued by continuous wildfires that far exceed those of average years. While July and August are typically considered the peak months for western wildfires, this year's fire season has been exacerbated by continued drought, record-high temperatures, widespread dry lightning storms, and high winds. As of July 23, more than 55,000 wildfires had been reported this year, burning over 4 million acres. That represents an increase of more than 8,000 fires and 1 million acres over the 10-year average. My home State of Utah alone has reported nearly 700 separate wildfires that have burned nearly 700,000 acres. This includes the fire at the Milford Flats Complex, which burned more than 360,000 acres, easily making it Utah's largest wildfire on record and one of the largest of this year's fire season.”