Deadline for Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire victims extended a month through federal spending bill

U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez describes the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire Assistance Act in October 2022, in a Mora high school classroom as FEMA officials listen in. Those affected by the fire will now have until Dec. 20 to file a notice of loss. (Photo by Patrick Lohmann / Source NM)

Those affected by the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire have until Dec. 20 to file claims for damages, an extension contained in the continuing resolution passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday.

Congress in September 2022 enacted the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire Assistance Act, which created a claims office tasked with compensating those who lost their homes, businesses, and trees, among other losses, in the spring 2022 wildfire. The blaze, which destroyed hundreds of homes and covered an area of 534 square miles, began as botched federal prescribed burns.

Congress awarded the claims office, which is overseen by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, $3.95 billion and set a deadline for victims to file initial claims, known as “notices of loss.” Those with losses will not be able get any compensation if they do not file before the deadline.

The Dec. 20 extension is a short-term solution to the original mid-November deadline that, for many, was coming too soon, U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez told Source New Mexico on Wednesday afternoon.

Internal FEMA smoke map shows large area where northern NM residents need little to prove losses

She cited delays in the office getting up and running, and the damage from burn-scar flooding that continues to this day in and around the mountains scorched by the blaze.

There have been 27 flash floods and debris flows reported in Mora and San Miguel counties since March of this year, according to National Weather Service data. Flooding is expected to occur for several more years.

Extending the deadline will mean people can get compensation if new damage occurs, she said.

“We also want to make sure that everybody has the ability to file a claim if they didn’t have initial damage, but they have subsequent damage because of the cascading event from the flooding,” she said.

She described the extension to December as a short-term solution that keeps the application period open until lawmakers can consider a longer extension. She and other members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation sponsored a bill extending the deadline until late 2026.

“What we expect to happen is that before the (continuing resolution) expires, that we will put it in the next, more permanent funding,,” she said. “But that’s our goal, is a two-year extension.”

While that’s their goal, she urged everyone who thinks they might be eligible for compensation to file a notice of loss as soon as possible, and definitely before Dec. 20. There’s no guarantee Congress will approve the two-year extension, she said.

“You never know what Congress is going to do, right?” she said. “And we cannot rely on anything until it is a law.”

As of Tuesday, Sept. 24, the claims office had paid $1.35 billion in 10,417 claims. More information about filing a claim can be found here .