NM senators pushing to keep Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon claims office open longer

The Federal Emergency Management Agency office set up to help victims of the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire could remain open for several more years under legislation introduced by members of New Mexico’s Congressional delegation. Additionally, a new FEMA claims office could be created for victims of the Cerro Pelado Fire.

Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján and Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, all Democrats, introduced legislation Thursday that would keep the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire Claims Office open until 2027. The bill would extend the timeframe fire victims have to file a claim, moving the deadline from November 2024 to 2027 by amending the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire Assistance Act.

The extension legislation is being introduced a year after the passage of the assistance act, which provided $2.5 billion in aid to fire victims. An additional $1.45 billion was provided in a separate appropriations bill.

The extension should benefit fire victims, as flooding events due to the burn scar are expected to continue for years, according to Mora County Commissioner Veronica Serna.

“As we have seen with 2023 flooding events, mitigating an issue in one area tends to direct the damaging effects to another, thereby causing unexpected damage somewhere else,” Serna said in a statement. “As we continue to address each issue as it occurs, other values will continue to be affected.”

The three members of the delegation also introduced the Cerro Pelado Fire Assistance Act on Thursday, which would require FEMA to open a claims office to help Cerro Pelado Fire victims file claims so they can get compensation for fire-caused losses.

The bill would not redirect funding provided for Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire victims. Instead, it would require its own compensation fund.

The fires resulted from prescribed burns and pile burns set by the U.S. Forest Service. The Cerro Pelado Fire burned more than 45,000 acres in Sandoval and Los Alamos counties, while the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire burned over 340,000 acres in San Miguel, Mora and Taos counties.

“Now, Congress must do right by New Mexicans and provide them the relief they need to recover,” Luján said in a statement.