(AP) - The U.S. Forest Service says it has repaid most of the $18 million that a California official said it owed the state for fighting fires last year in national forests.
A spokesman said Monday that the Forest Service paid $14 million to local governments by the end of June.
Spokesman Paul Wade says they are trying to resolve differences over the remaining money that involves administrative costs that can't be reimbursed.
California Emergency Services Director Mark Ghilarducci sent a sharply worded letter to the forest chief last week saying failure to pay may force the state to stop responding to fires in national forests.
Char Miller, a Pomona College environmental professor, says it is unlikely the state would ever stop helping fight fires in national forests.
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