Frustrations are continuing to grow with Federal Emergency Management Agency.For almost a year, the federal agency has been involved with the recovery of victims of the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire. The tragedy became the state’s largest wildfire after 341,735 acres were burned in northern New Mexico.”There were at least 180 homes completely destroyed. means you can’t go back to that property. It’s not just your livelihood. You cannot live there,” Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-New Mexico) said.After the blaze, residents were left with washed-out roads, damaged fields, and destroyed homes. Many of them turned to FEMA for help, but some claim they got the opposite.”Mainly what I’ve received through FEMA is aggravation, and that’s largely what I’m hearing from so many sources,” Kayt Peck, a Rociada resident who lost her house, said.Peck lived at her residence for 18 years. While she has insurance, she said the aid from FEMA hasn’t come through yet.”Flexibility is critical. You have to meet people’s needs, and I’m not seeing them do that. I’m not only seeing them not do that, but I’m seeing that they don’t seem to care,” Peck said. Some of the state’s top leaders are also noticing. On Monday, Senate Bill 6 was signed into law by Lujan Grisham. $100 million will now be allocated to the Department of Finance and Administration to provide no-interest loans. Counties and towns affected by the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak fire will be able to use the additional funding for infrastructure projects after damages were caused by the state’s largest wildfire.A task the governor said FEMA was slow on. “FEMA is, by any measure, a really important but very broken system,” she said. According to a FEMA spokesperson, a total of $3.95 billion in funding has been set aside to help. Yet none of the funding has been individually distributed. “We were all advocating for setting up that office as quick as possible,” Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-New Mexico) said.That’s because the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak claims office hasn’t been opened yet. The office was advocated by several state legislators, like Senator Luján, to help pass out the money.”We’re going to keep working on this. To keep a close eye. To ensure families are not falling through the cracks. That they get the help they need,” he said.Another top lawmaker fighting for compensation is Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-New Mexico). She, along with Sen. Luján and others, sent a letter to FEMA back in January. In the filing, state legislators urged the federal agency to speed up the claims process for New Mexicans.”As we’ve seen, the funding hasn’t reached the families as quickly as it needs to and we still have thousands of New Mexicans who are displaced,” Stansbury said. “We really need FEMA to expedite the rules that they’re using to help get those dollars on the ground.”There’s also the mention of future legislation, especially when it comes to improving FEMA.Sen. Luján said the federal program isn’t suited to western states. He’s now proposing newer and stronger chapters within FEMA. A motion that’s not just gaining support among legislators in the western region, but throughout the entire country.
Frustrations are continuing to grow with Federal Emergency Management Agency.
For almost a year, the federal agency has been involved with the recovery of victims of the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire. The tragedy became the state’s largest wildfire after 341,735 acres were burned in northern New Mexico.
“There were at least 180 homes completely destroyed. [That] means you can’t go back to that property. It’s not just your livelihood. You cannot live there,” Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-New Mexico) said.
After the blaze, residents were left with washed-out roads, damaged fields, and destroyed homes. Many of them turned to FEMA for help, but some claim they got the opposite.
“Mainly what I’ve received through FEMA is aggravation, and that’s largely what I’m hearing from so many sources,” Kayt Peck, a Rociada resident who lost her house, said.
Peck lived at her residence for 18 years. While she has insurance, she said the aid from FEMA hasn’t come through yet.
“Flexibility is critical. You have to meet people’s needs, and I’m not seeing them do that. I’m not only seeing them not do that, but I’m seeing that they don’t seem to care,” Peck said.
Some of the state’s top leaders are also noticing.
On Monday, Senate Bill 6 was signed into law by Lujan Grisham. $100 million will now be allocated to the Department of Finance and Administration to provide no-interest loans. Counties and towns affected by the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak fire will be able to use the additional funding for infrastructure projects after damages were caused by the state’s largest wildfire.
A task the governor said FEMA was slow on.
“FEMA is, by any measure, a really important but very broken system,” she said.
According to a FEMA spokesperson, a total of $3.95 billion in funding has been set aside to help.
Yet none of the funding has been individually distributed.
“We were all advocating for setting up that office as quick as possible,” Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-New Mexico) said.
That’s because the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak claims office hasn’t been opened yet. The office was advocated by several state legislators, like Senator Luján, to help pass out the money.
“We’re going to keep working on this. To keep a close eye. To ensure families are not falling through the cracks. That they get the help they need,” he said.
Another top lawmaker fighting for compensation is Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-New Mexico).
She, along with Sen. Luján and others, sent a letter to FEMA back in January. In the filing, state legislators urged the federal agency to speed up the claims process for New Mexicans.
“As we’ve seen, the funding hasn’t reached the families as quickly as it needs to and we still have thousands of New Mexicans who are displaced,” Stansbury said. “We really need FEMA to expedite the rules that they’re using to help get those dollars on the ground.”
There’s also the mention of future legislation, especially when it comes to improving FEMA.
Sen. Luján said the federal program isn’t suited to western states. He’s now proposing newer and stronger chapters within FEMA. A motion that’s not just gaining support among legislators in the western region, but throughout the entire country.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
