More than $6M in federal aid OK’d for Ruidoso fire, flooding recovery

EL PASO, Texas ( KTSM ) — More than $6 million in federal assistance has already been approved by FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Administration a month after President Biden declared a major disaster for the State of New Mexico following the South Fork and Salt fires and subsequent flooding, according to a news release sent out by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“FEMA and our federal partners are working closely with the state of New Mexico to provide help in recovery for all its affected residents as quickly as possible,” said Robert M. Patterson Jr., FEMA’s federal coordinating officer for New Mexico. “Federal assistance is just one part of the whole community effort to support New Mexico’s recovery from last month’s fires and floods.”

As of July 19, New Mexico’s recovery assistance includes:

• More than $3 million in grants awarded to eligible homeowners and renters in Lincoln, Otero, Rio Arriba and San Juan counties and the Mescalero Apache Reservation. These grants help pay for eligible losses and disaster-related damage, including:
• More than $1.7 million in FEMA housing grants to help pay for home repair, home replacement and rental assistance for temporary housing.
• More than $1.3 million in grants to help pay for personal property replacement and other serious disaster-related needs — such as moving and storage fees, transportation, childcare, and medical and dental expenses.

More than $3 million in long-term, low-interest disaster loans from SBA has been approved and are available to homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes and non-profit organizations to repair, rebuild or replace disaster-damaged physical property and to cover economic injury from the fires and flooding, according to FEMA.

SBA opened a Business Recovery Center (BRC) to help applicants to complete their disaster loan applications. It is located inside the Ruidoso Public Library (Archive Room), 107 Kansas City Road. The BRC is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. No appointment is needed.

Applicants may also apply at https://lending.sba.gov . The deadline to apply to SBA for property damage is Aug. 19. The deadline to apply for economic injury is March 20, 2025.

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