Senate passes stopgap funding measure with $2.5 billion in wildfire relief

Sep. 30—Gallinas resident Rock Ulibarri lost 80 acres of timber and food his family had prepared for the coming year after the Hermits Peak Fire ignited two miles from his home.

He was in Washington, D.C., on Thursday when the U.S. Senate passed a stopgap spending measure that includes $2.5 billion in assistance for Northern New Mexicans who suffered losses tied to what would become the more than 340,000-acre Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire, the largest blaze in the state's recorded history.

The continuing resolution, hailed as a bipartisan deal to prevent a partial government shutdown through Dec. 16, is expected to pass the House by Friday. It also includes $12 billion in aid for Ukraine, $2 billion for a block grant economic relief program for U.S. communities struck by disasters and more than $18 billion for future disaster assistance.

"This will make me whole again, hopefully," Ulibarri said shortly after the funding resolution passed the Senate. "I didn't lose my house, thank goodness. But a lot of my friends and family did, so it's going to help them, too."

News of the additional aid for wildfire victims was a victory for New Mexico's congressional Democrats, who have pushed for months for the federal government to fully compensate residents and businesses for losses from a wildfire that sparked when controlled burns conducted by the U.S. Forest Service raged out of control amid heavy spring winds and extreme drought conditions.

For those in fire- and flood-ravaged communities in San Miguel and Mora counties, the 72-25 Senate vote could be life-changing.

San Miguel County Commissioner Max Trujillo, who was with Ulibarri on Capitol Hill, said his father lost his house in the blaze, as did many of his constituents, so the funding will be a godsend to those trying to recover.

"My district was hit on a massive scale," Trujillo said. "The loss was just incredible. The salt in the wounds was the flooding. Just kind of a recurring nightmare."

Trujillo said an estimated 700 homes were destroyed by the blaze in the two counties. Many people are still displaced, staying in hotels or with their families or renting temporary housing, he added.

"This money was so important," Trujillo said. "We can start bringing our people back home. Maybe now some sense of normalcy will start returning to our communities."

U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, who led the congressional effort to pass the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire Assistance Act with U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján, said in an interview after Thursday's vote she expects the continuing resolution to soar through the House on Friday, given its strong support.

The $2.5 billion appropriated for New Mexico fire victims will offer compensation beyond what the Federal Emergency Management Agency is able to provide, which she described as a "helping hand."

FEMA will manage claims for the new funding, which will cover a range of losses including uninsured and underinsured property, infrastructure, personal income and business assets, as well as temporary housing and cleanup costs. There is no cap set on an individual claim.

"I've had so many people tell me they've lost all of their equipment," Leger Fernández said. "They've lost their tractors, their animals. They've had business income loss. It will cover all of those losses. This is a bill that was intended to make those who have suffered from the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire, to make them whole."

Paul Aragon, director of hard-hit Pendaries Village in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains northwest of Las Vegas, N.M., said he was happy to learn the money would cover business losses as well as scorched homes.

Fifty-one Pendaries homes were destroyed and dozens more were damaged. The fire also consumed a lodge, restaurant, community center and offices, which Aragon has pegged at $2.5 million to $4 million in losses.

He praised the state's congressional delegates, who he said were willing to fight for Northern New Mexicans, but tempered his elation with caution.

"On paper, it sounds great, but the devil is in the details," Aragon said.

It's unclear how the funding might affect Pendaries residents who have filed lawsuits against the government.

Residents have filed about three dozen suits in federal court, and one question still unanswered is whether the litigation will disqualify people from receiving money from the pending recovery funds, said Brian Hendrix, who lives in Pendaries part-time and is helping people with the legal actions.

While additional appropriations will be needed to cover the full cost of wildfire recovery, Leger Fernández said, she sees the $2.5 billion as "a very good amount to start with."

"We have the government accepting responsibility and saying, 'It's our responsibility to pay you for the losses you have suffered,' " she said.

"It was clear that something more had to be done," Luján said in an interview Thursday. "Especially in this very unique circumstance where a prescribed burn gets out of control and the federal government bears responsibility."

He said the legislation was modeled from the Cerro Grande Fire Assistance Act, which provided $455 million for victims of the 2000 wildfire in the Jemez Mountains that devastated Los Alamos communities and also ignited during a federal burn.

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, a co-sponsor of the wildfire aid, said in a call with reporters he hopes the funding will improve FEMA's future responses to fire disasters, particularly in what he described as unique areas like Northern New Mexico that have long-standing agricultural traditions.

Heinrich referred to acequia restoration as an example of local infrastructure response with which FEMA has had limited experience.

"Everything we're able to do through the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon [funding] is going to improve the way we respond to these fires for subsequent communities," Heinrich said.

The agency will have 45 days after the spending resolution becomes law to publish an initial declaration of how the new compensation program will be structured, he said.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who has urged President Joe Biden and Congress to take full responsibility for the widespread damage from the wildfire and the floodwaters that came in its wake, lauded the Senate vote.

"For months I have worked tirelessly and joined with the state's congressional delegation to push the federal government to take responsibility and provide financial support for New Mexicans affected by the fires which the federal government admitted were caused by the U.S. Forest Service," she said in a statement. "I am happy to report our efforts have paid off, and New Mexico families are one step closer to seeing the results."