FEMA — friend or foe?

New plant growth emerges among burned trees in early September 2023 near Hermits Peak, more than a year after the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire. (Photo by Patrick Lohmann / Source NM)

I’m worried about my friend,  lots of friends actually.

The Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire and subsequent floods cut a swath through forest, homes, communities, farms, ranches and grasslands. It also cut through the hearts and lives of thousands of people that live in Mora, San Miguel and Taos counties.

Some of those people are near and dear to me, friends who became closer than family in my over 20 years living in the area.

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Today, I’m focused on one friend, a good friend with whom I now find myself viewing across a chasm caused when each of us made different decisions on how to serve our ravaged community.

I volunteered to write this column to use my experience as a writer to inform, even fight for, and, hopefully, inspire people, my people, as we all struggle to survive and rebuild.

My friend, Jennifer Carbajal, was offered another route, in what originally appeared to be an effort on the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s part to respond to public needs. Public comments asked for local input at a decision-making level in distribution of nearly $4 billion allocated to “make whole” those devastated by the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire and subsequent floods.

Carbajal was hired as the deputy director of the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Claims Office, tasked with administering disbursement of those funds.

It’s obvious to me local input hasn’t been seriously heard, but I don’t think it’s because Carbajal hasn’t tried. I see it in her eyes in the FEMA town hall meetings, as we view each other across the space dividing us.. She’s fighting for our community from the inside while I fight from the outside.

I suspect my job is far easier.

There have been some promising developments recently. Public outcry for the removal of Angel Gladwell as the Director of the Claims Office was heard. It happened. She’s gone and FEMA has advertised to hire a new director. I await that outcome.. From the very beginning, the public has called for the hiring of a New Mexico retired judge experienced in distributing court-ordered reparations.

I’m not holding my breath. I predict that they will hire once again an existing FEMA employee.

I digress.

As deputy director, to the best of my knowledge, Carbajal led one town hall meeting on behalf of the Claims Office. It happened in Mora on Feb. 13 before a packed house in the Mora High School lecture hall.

I was a volunteer firefighter for about 14 years, and I served in the Naval Reserve. I have never witnessed a greater act of strength and courage than what I saw that day on the part of Jennifer Carbajal.

She listened.

The community had its opportunity to express frustration and anger for how FEMA treated the people victimized by the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire.

From my point of view, we’ve faced over two years of contempt from FEMA. I saw it first in direct disaster response through administration of Stafford Act funds. I saw it again in the administration of funds appropriated by Congress and signed by the President to make right damages done by a massive fire created unnecessarily by the U.S. Forest Service.

At the meeting Carbajal, my friend, listened, acknowledged the pain and suffering and assured those present that steps were being taken to expedite disbursement of recovery funds. She listened to her own people, taking the verbal and emotional blows that should have belonged to FEMA senior officials.

I fear Carbajal was simply thrown under the bus.

This past FEMA town hall on March 14 had a new spokesperson, Benjamin Krakuer, a senior advisor to FEMA in Washington, D.C. I’ve heard good things about this man, which would relate to other evidence that FEMA is striving to change at its highest levels.

On Jan. 22, an interim Final Rule was released to the Federal Register calling for an overhaul of FEMA’s Individual Assistance Program. In essence, these changes would alter the current FEMA practice requiring that individuals must meet requirements to “prove” they needed assistance. The new Interim Final Rule requires FEMA to “prove” why previous assistance requests are denied. Quite a change if it happens. It has 180 days to receive public comment, and we’ll wait and see from there.

I was distressed at the March 14 town hall, that FEMA was reviving efforts to control the conversation. You had to sign up to speak, and I’ve seen  virtual meetings in the past involving an obvious effort to control what questions or statements are allowed to be heard. Time will tell if Benjamin Krakuer is truly here to help the people or if it will be business as usual. Be that as it may, I hope he will prove to have Carbajal’s courage and strength.

There are some positive developments. A concerted effort is underway to disburse payment for smoke damage to structures within 15 miles of the burn scar. As one who lost my home, I will confess to some frustration that receiving payment for smoke damage appears to be drastically easier than a claim for destruction of my home, but I don’t begrudge any assistance anyone can receive in the aftermath of this disaster.

Flood insurance is another big push from the Claims Office with an April 1 deadline. I’ve filed, but I have concerns because of language in the early acceptance form for flood insurance. As I recall, at one time it stated that acceptance meant forgoing any  right to further claims. We’ll see. If that phrase is still in the document, I guess I’ll have to forgo flood insurance. I do understand that Senator Ben Luján has introduced legislation striving to extend that deadline. Just another item in the “we’ll see” file.

I do know that there are many people who care about what happens to those affected by the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire. Those of us in the midst of that struggle appreciate those  who feel our pain.  Thank you for taking the time to read. Thank you for taking the time to care.

When asked about the first signs of civilization, Margaret Mead, the famous anthropologist said that it was a healed femur, the large thigh bone, in a prehistoric skeleton. In the early days of humanity, that was an injury that would never heal unless someone cared enough to take care of that person during the healing process. Basically, the first indication of civilization was the presence of compassion.

I’ll end this week’s article with a simple thank you for caring. As you practice compassion in your lives, I believe you plant the seeds for a desperately needed social reform. We’re suffering from a compassion deficit, especially when it’s seen in the very federal agency responsible for helping those devastated by disaster.

As a species, we can do better. With your help, we will.

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