President Biden asks Congress to boost Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire recovery funds

On Monday, President Joe Biden asked Congress for up to $1.5 billion in federal funding to help New Mexico continue recovering from the 2022 Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire. That would bring federal recovery dollars for the northern New Mexico communities affected by the disaster to $5.45 billion.

The request is part of a Biden administration ask for $98.4 billion in emergency spending to help the federal government respond to multiple natural disasters, including the recent hurricanes Helene and Milton that ravaged the Southeast.

“I urge the Congress to act quickly to pass a supplemental funding package to assist communities impacted by these hurricanes — and every other disaster since the Congress last passed a comprehensive disaster package in 2022 — so that the people, families, businesses, and communities affected have the support they need to respond, recover, and rebuild responsibly,” Biden wrote in a letter to Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson.

The largest share of the money, about $40 billion, would go to the main disaster relief fund at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The fund helps with debris removal, repairing public infrastructure and providing financial assistance to survivors.

Biden said the fund would face a shortfall this budget year without additional money. He said that would not only affect the agency’s ability to provide lifesaving assistance to survivors, but also would slow recovery efforts from prior disasters.

Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak resulted from prescribed burns and pile burns set by the U.S. Forest Service. It was the largest wildfire in New Mexico history, burning 340,000 acres. So far, FEMA has distributed over $1.5 billion of the $3.95 billion available for people affected by the wildfire.

“It’s critically important that the FEMA claims office in New Mexico get funding out the door to these families who need it and deserve it,” said Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., who pushed the White House to include additional money for Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak recovery in the disaster supplemental request.

“We have come very far, but we have a lot of work left to do,” Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, D-N.M., said in a statement. She said she will continue to “urge the Claims Office to cut the red tape and get money out faster.”

In October, a group of about 20 fire victims protested the 2½-year wait for disaster aid in Santa Fe.

“Over two years since the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire wiped away generations of history and uprooted families from their communities, it’s unacceptable that many New Mexicans continue to wait for the compensation they are owed from the federal government,” Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., said Monday in a statement.

If approved by Congress, the new dollars would be in the same fund as the original federal money for Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak, and could be used to help landowners, businesses or communities recover.

Luján and Leger Fernández led the effort to pass the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire Assistance Act in 2022. In a unique approach, the law created a specific fund for fire victims to get compensation from the federal government.

Because the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire has its own dedicated fund, the dollars for recovery were still available when FEMA was struggling with a budget deficit earlier this year after a string of natural disasters.

The proposed disaster aid package could be one of the last major funding packages to move out of the Senate and potentially reach Biden’s desk, according to Luján. He is optimistic that the funding package could pass, having seen both Republican and Democratic senators push for more disaster relief funds.

“Just last week, one day that I was presiding, a Republican colleague of mine from North Carolina, Thom Tillis, went to the floor to lead an effort to try to secure additional funding with Mark Warner, a Democratic colleague out of Virginia,” Luján said.

In a move that Luján called proactive, Biden also asked Congress to extend the deadline for people affected by the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire to file an initial claim to receive compensation. The deadline was initially extended to November and was extended again to Dec. 20.

“It’s critically important for New Mexicans to file their claim as soon as possible,” Luján said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.