Four plaintiffs seek over $1B from feds over denied Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon damage claims

Nov. 18—Mora County has joined two school districts and an electric cooperative in suing the federal government for more than $1 billion for wildfire damages after the plaintiffs say their claims for compensation were denied.

They are among dozens of plaintiffs who have filed lawsuits over the historic Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire and the federal government's pace and process of compensating victims.

The new lawsuit, filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque, says the county and Las Vegas City Schools, the Mora Independent School District and the Mora-San Miguel Electrical Cooperative submitted claims in April for damage caused by the fire. Their claims were denied in October, according to the lawsuit, which names "The United States of America" as the defendant.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has been handling damage claims related to the wildfire, "is not a party to this lawsuit, and we have no further comment," a FEMA spokesperson wrote in an email Monday.

The Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire began as two prescribed burns set by the U.S. Forest Service in January and April 2022. The blazes combined to become the state's largest wildfire in history, scorching about 341,000 acres in the mountains east of Santa Fe. It destroyed hundreds of homes and displaced thousands of residents in rural villages throughout the area.

Congress set aside nearly $4 billion last year to pay claims related to the fire, and a proposal to increase that amount is pending. Still, the federal government has faced multiple lawsuits from plaintiffs who say the claims process has been fraught with obstacles.

The plaintiffs in the new lawsuit say they've suffered "extensive damage to critical infrastructure and public services," including the destruction of buildings, roads and power lines, "as well as significant disruption to public services such as education and electricity."

Mora County estimated its damages at $1.09 billion, while the electric co-op is seeking $483.2 million. Mora schools aim to collect $48.2 million, and Las Vegas schools $30.6 million.

Combined, their claims are almost equal to a recent request by President Joe Biden for an additional $1.5 billion in compensation for victims of the fire, as part of a $98 billion supplemental request to fund natural disaster recovery around the nation. The package includes funding for areas of North Carolina and Florida devastated by hurricanes and fire-damaged communities in Hawaii.

The additional funds, if approved by Congress, would add to the $3.95 billion already appropriated to manage the fallout of the fire as part of the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire Assistance Act.

As of Monday, FEMA had paid out more than $1.54 billion of that amount, according to an email from a regional claims office.

U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., said the additional funds would bring the total amount allocated for damages from the federally caused wildfire closer to the $8 billion he had requested in 2022 legislation, which he said was based on the recommendations of analysts and other outside observers.

"I was very clear that more funding needed to be included for my support," Luján said. "A 40% increase is a good number."

Claims will be paid out as long as money is available, Luján's spokesperson Adán Serna wrote in an email.

Although an extension for claims related to the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire was granted earlier this year, the deadline to file is fast approaching. New Mexicans affected by the fire now have until Dec. 20 to file an initial claim, despite a push to extend the deadline an additional two years. Such an extension would require congressional approval.

"It's absolutely critical and urgent for families that were impacted by the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak fire to file their initial claim as soon as possible and do it before the Dec. 20 deadline," Luján said. "I don't know if those deadlines will be extended further."

Luján said claims don't need to be completed by Dec. 20, but an initial claim does need to be filed by that date.

The entities in San Miguel and Mora counties named as plaintiffs in the new lawsuit are represented by the Singleton Schreiber law firm, which has filed numerous lawsuits on behalf of wildfire claimants.

One of the firm's pending lawsuits accuses the government of breaking federal law by contacting potential claimants and trying to strong-arm them into agreeing to settlements without consulting their attorneys.

Luján said the intention of the Hermits Peak legislation was to ensure victims of the fire didn't have to wait for other natural disaster response programs, created through the 1988 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, to kick in.

"While this is not moving as fast as I would like, or any constituent would like, it's moving faster than the Stafford process," Luján said.

He added, "There's still no excuse for why this money is not moving quicker out the door from the claims office in New Mexico."