Utah Wildfire Burns Campground, Motel A group of Boy Scouts and hikers had to be airlifted from a canyon as a wildfire swept through a campground and destroyed a nearby motel, authorities said Friday. The fire started Thursday at a campground in Salt Creek Canyon, 85 miles south of Salt Lake City, the U.S. Forest Service said Friday. By Friday, 20 square miles, more than 13,000 acres, had burned. All campgrounds and cabins were evacuated along the Nebo Loop, a scenic road in Uinta National Forest, and 18 Scouts and hikers were rescued Thursday from Nephi Canyon. "They'd had to get up in some real rough, rocky area to get away from the fire, so it could have been bad. But with quick work by the helicopters, they were able to get out," said Bert Hart, a spokesman at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. The cause was under investigation, but there was a report of a car shooting sparks from the brakes, Uinta National Forest spokeswoman Loyal Clark said. Utah's weather was little help to firefighters; forecasters called for another day of 100 degrees or more throughout the state....
Lawsuit challenges permits for Navajo coal mine Two environmental groups filed a lawsuit Friday against the federal agency that regulates coal mining over its approval of two permits for a mine in northwestern New Mexico. The San Juan Citizens Alliance and Dine Citizens Against Ruining our Environment claim the agency and its western regional director, Al Klein, violated federal laws when renewing the mine's permit in September 2004 and approving a revised permit in October 2005. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Denver, claims the U.S. Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement did not provide adequate public notice and failed to fully analyze potential environmental consequences as required by the National Environmental Policy Act....