SANTA FE NEW MEXICAN VIA AP
A wildfire rages near the Taos County border as firefighters converge in northern New Mexico to battle the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon wildfire, May 13, 2022. The Federal Emergency Management Agency said Tuesday, Jan. 23, that it was devoting more resources to treating pending claims filed by victims of the largest wildfire in New Mexico’s history.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency said Tuesday that it is devoting more resources to processing outstanding claims filed by victims of the largest wildfire in New Mexico’s recorded history.
The 2022 fire was sparked through a pair of prescribed fires started by the U. S. Forest Service. The U. S. Department of Homeland Security has been launched in an effort to destroy plants to reduce the risk of a catastrophic wildfire. Officials have said they have underestimated the drought conditions that have plagued the region for years.
Hundreds of homes have been destroyed, thousands of citizens have been displaced and mountains have been charred, leaving damage that experts say will have environmental effects for decades.
FEMA officials said more workers have been temporarily assigned to process claims and that the firm is prioritizing claims filed some time ago.
The firm has won $518 million in documented claims and approved $330 million in invoices for others who have suffered property, monetary and business losses, said firm spokesman John Mills.
The federal government set aside about $4 billion last year to pay wildfire claims. Lawsuits have been filed through citizens who say FEMA has been slow to pay their claims.
The federal firm recently announced that it will put new regulations into effect this year aimed at simplifying and speeding up the recovery procedure in the event of a nationwide herbal crisis. FEMA officials called it the most comprehensive update to its individual assistance program in two decades.
The changes were the result of feedback from survivors, organizations that work in disaster recovery, and elected officials. New Mexicans have been among those calling for changes in the wake of the wildfire.
The announcement that more employees will be assigned to claims from the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire follows a letter sent Monday by members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation. U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández and U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Lujan pointed to the failure of the claims office to meet a congressionally mandated 180-day deadline for settling each claim.
They said the deadline had already been exceeded for more than 100 programs and is expected to meet the deadline for many more programs in the coming weeks.
Members of the delegation said it was vital that all new claims examiners hired to deal with the backlog perceive that their role is not that of adjusters seeking to save money, but to use resources provided through Congress to satisfy claims.
“The other people of northern New Mexico have endured suffering at the hands of the federal government, which started the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire,” the lawmakers wrote. “We urge you to do everything in your power to expedite the procedure for compensation to the plaintiffs. “
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