Sarah Huber, whose property suffered damage in the 2022 Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire, speaks to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and other state and federal officials during a town hall meeting Thursday in Las Vegas, N.M. (Photo by Patrick Lohmann /Source NM)
Survivors of the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire told federal and state officials at a town hall meeting late last week that they are concerned about how much compensation is going to repair smoke and ash damage while many in the burn scar are still struggling to get back on their feet.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is overseeing a $4 billion fund to compensate victims of the wildfire, caused by two botched prescribed burns that merged in April 2022, burning more than 530 square miles and several hundred homes. So far, the agency has spent about $554 million of the fund, a little more than 14%.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham led a town hall meeting Thursday in Las Vegas to hear from survivors and to express cautious optimism that the federal agency had turned a corner after widespread frustration with delays and red tape. But multiple survivors who spoke up said they thought those who lost the most to the fire were not being prioritized.