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Yahoo
12-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
NM fire victims find recourse in court after delays, inaction by Congress, FEMA
The Cerro Pelado Fire seen from La Bajada Hill on April 29, 2022. (Photo by Shaun Griswold / Source NM) Those who suffered losses in prescribed burns gone awry in New Mexico's historic 2022 wildfire season are asking the courts to intervene, following what their lawyers say are failures by the federal government and Congress to make victims whole. In the spring of 2022, the Cerro Pelado Fire, the Hermits Peak Fire and the Calf Canyon Fire escaped containment lines to become runaway wildfires, all of them first ignited by the United States Forest Service as prescribed burns. The Hermits Peak and Calf Canyon Fires merged in late April of that year and grew into the biggest fire in New Mexico history. In total, the fires burned nearly 400,000 acres, and left livelihoods and homes destroyed in their wake. Last week, thanks to a federal judge's intervention, a dozen victims of the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire finally received full compensation, while lawyers representing Cerro Pelado Fire victims recently filed a lawsuit against the United States Forest Service, setting up a difficult battle in federal court. In the scar of New Mexico's largest wildfire, a legal battle is brewing over the cost of suffering The court has emerged as a last resort for compensation amid ongoing concerns about the distribution of $5.45 billion compensation fund for Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire victims Congress created in late 2022, along with an unsuccessful effort by members of New Mexico's congressional delegation to create a similar fund for Cerro Pelado Fire victims, lawyers for victims of both fires said in recent interviews. 'Here we are, three years later, after the devastation of the burn scar, my clients finally got their day in court,' Brian Colón, attorney with Singleton Schreiber, a firm representing Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire victims, told Source New Mexico. 'They got compensation awarded for the trespass that the federal government conducted when they were negligent three years ago.' Federal Judge James Browning took a day and a half last week to listen to testimony from a dozen victims of the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire, who each described in detail the financial cost and also the emotional toll of the federally caused, 534-square-mile wildfire. One by one, Judge James Browning ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which oversees the fund Congress created, to award them thousands of dollars. The judge stepped in as part of a 'judicial review' allowed for in the act Congress passed when the parties cannot agree on an appropriate compensation amount. By the time the victims testified in court, FEMA had offered them low or sometimes no money at all for certain categories of losses. Notably, Browning ordered FEMA to provide the victims so-called noneconomic damages, akin to pain and suffering payments, for the emotional hardship the fire caused. FEMA had provided each of them a final payment offer listing '$0' for noneconomic damages. Even though last week's hearing involved only a dozen clients, the payments ranging between $9,000 and $330,000 represent a 'watershed' moment and a measure of closure in a legal battle pending for more than a year, Colón said. FEMA initially said the law Congress passed only allowed the agency to pay victims for losses that carry a price tag: burned homes, forgone business revenue and evacuation expenses, for example. By intervening to hear individual cases, Browning had to evaluate and quantify aspects of victims' experiences such as their proximity to the fire as it was burning; their anguish as they fled the blaze; and the extent of the 'nuisance' and 'trespass' the fire represented on their property. After federal judge's order, NM fire victims should seek to describe their anguish, lawyer says Late last year, in a separate, more-sweeping lawsuit, Browning ordered FEMA to begin awarding noneconomic damages, saying in a 99-page ruling that the damages are allowable under New Mexico state law and the law Congress passed. That order remains pending, and, as with the individual cases Browning ruled on last week, can still be appealed. FEMA and the United States Attorney's Office, which represents the agency in court, have declined to say whether they plan to appeal. While the victims' lawyers have 'no indication what FEMA's intentions are,' Colón noted that his firm has filed lawsuits on behalf of hundreds of named victims, each of whom could go before Browning in the coming months to seek whatever recourse the judge deems fit to award. 'We're gonna put as many of them in front of Judge Browning as he will permit, in whatever timetable he dictates,' Colón said. 'And we're optimistic that he is going to continue dedicating a very substantial amount of time to try and move these cases forward.' Browning announced in January he intends to retire in February 2026 after 22 years on the bench. While the payment of hundreds of millions of dollars in noneconomic damages for all victims who seek them is still pending, the FEMA claims office Congress created is continuing to award compensation for other types of losses. According to the latest figures, FEMA has paid 16,966 claims totaling $2.35 billion for things like reforestation, business expenses, damaged property and losses local governments incurred responding to the fire. In enacting the Hermits Peak bill, members of New Mexico's congressional delegation have said they envisioned the accompanying claims office as a way to swiftly and fairly pay victims of the fire without the need for a costly and time-consuming court battle. A new lawsuit alleges a Forest Service 'cover up' denied people living within the Cerro Pelado Fire the same opportunity. In late April of this year, lawyers representing 20 plaintiffs, including individual property owners and the Jemez Pueblo and Jemez Mountains Electric Cooperative, filed a lawsuit against the Forest Service for the 46,000-acre fire in the Jemez Mountains, alleging that agency was negligent in failing to monitor the area for still-burning embers in the pile of thinned trees and brush it ignited after the snowpack had melted. The lawsuit also accuses the Forest Service of covering up its failure to monitor the pile by issuing an initial investigation determining the cause of the fire to be 'inconclusive.' Moreover, the lawsuit says, the Forest Service only ordered a second investigation that ultimately concluded the wildfire had begun as a 'holdover' after a 'whistleblower' and others raised issue with its original determination. NM federal delegation works to get new compensation pot for Cerro Pelado Fire victims 'The [Forest Service's] cover-up of the actual cause and origin of the wildfire resulted in the victims of the fire being left out of the Hermit's Peak Calf Canyon Fire Assistance Act,' the lawsuit alleges. A spokesperson for the Forest Service did not respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit Monday afternoon from Source New Mexico. Chris Bauman, the plaintiffs' lawyer with B&D Law Offices, told Source New Mexico on Monday that even after New Mexico Democrats U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez and U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján sponsored the Cerro Pelado Fire Assistance Act, he never thought the separate bill had much of a chance of delivering compensation like the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire Assistance Act did. 'We were told by people that know more about how things work in Washington that it was a long shot,' he said. 'So really we didn't have much expectation, but obviously we were hopeful.' Winning a lawsuit against the federal government is difficult, Bauman said, due to the 'discretionary function' exemption to the Federal Tort Claims Act. That exemption prohibits the federal government from being liable if employees acted within the scope of their duties during a harmful act. Bauman's firm needs to prove that the Forest Service employees who lit the fire in January violated a mandatory policy when they failed to notice that the pile of debris they had lit smoldered undetected for months until catching a huge wind gust on April 22, 2022. According to the lawsuit, the burn plan laying out the series of pile burns in the area requires continuous monitoring, especially after the snowpack disappears. 'So that's what we've tried to highlight in our complaint, is that there were multiple instances where they were required to do things under the burn plan and failed to do so,' he said. Feds try to skirt responsibility in lawsuit for people who died after state's biggest wildfire It's not clear how much damage the fire caused, in terms of dollars, Bauman said, though he acknowledged it's far less than the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire. Still, he said, the victims' only recourse is a lawsuit with a high bar to clear. 'The government will probably file the motion to dismiss, claiming lack of jurisdiction because of the discretionary function defense. We anticipate that will be sort of the first challenge to our case,' he said. 'Hopefully we'll survive that.' Once the information had emerged that the Cerro Pelado Fire had escaped from a pile burn, the state's congressional delegation in October 2023 introduced legislation similar to the Hermits Peak bill to compensate victims. It's been stalled ever since. Leger Fernandez told Source New Mexico on Monday in an emailed statement that she has not given up on Congress passing the Cerro Pelado Fire Assistance Act and fully compensating those victims like the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire Act aims to do. 'We continue to push for the Cerro Pelado Fire Assistance Act because the communities harmed by that fire deserve justice—just like the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon survivors,' she said. 'When Democrats were in the majority, we were able to pass the Hermits Peak legislation because we had leadership in the House, Senate, and White House that prioritized disaster relief. Unfortunately, that's no longer the case.' Republicans have refused to advance the Cerro Pelado bill 'despite repeated efforts,' she said. She also cited the recent firing of the FEMA administrator a day after he testified that FEMA should still exist. 'It's clear that the Trump White House isn't focused on helping disaster survivors,' she said. 'We're not giving up. We'll keep fighting to get Cerro Pelado survivors the compensation they deserve.'
Yahoo
06-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
FEMA claims process drags on for victims long after wildfire
Fast-acting firefighters cut a line around Samuel Aragon's ancestral home as the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire blazed around it three years ago, just in time to save the nearly 200-year-old structure from destruction. His winery, Las Nueve Niñas — named after his nine granddaughters and located above 7,000 feet in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains between Mora and Angel Fire — was also spared. He and his wife, Elisa Aragon, are grateful to be alive. But their lives have been inextricably changed by the wildfire and subsequent floods, which sent 10-foot-high walls of water raging down the arroyo past their home and through their outbuildings, cutting them off from hungry livestock on the other side. "We had flooding like we had never seen in our lifetime," said Samuel Aragon, who at 81 has lived the majority of his life in the same adobe home where he was born. The Aragons are among more than 1,000 people who have filed lawsuits over the Federal Emergency Management Agency's pace of providing compensation for losses tied to the massive wildfire — the largest in New Mexico's recorded history — and the floodwaters that struck in the fire's aftermath. The federal government accepted blame for the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon blaze — which ignited from two separate U.S. Forest Service-conducted burns gone awry in April 2022 — and Congress approved a total of nearly $5.5 billion for victims, vowing full compensation for a wide range of losses. 111822_JG_FEMA4.jpg (copy) (copy) Angela Gladwell with the Federal Emergency Management Agency speaks about the claims process to an audience full of attorneys and victims of the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire in Las Vegas, N.M., in November 2022. FEMA says it has paid out more than $2 billion so far for over 15,000 claims, with a March 14 deadline to file an initial claim. But many residents are still waiting for funds. Among them are the Aragons. 'We've done everything' With no trees left in the surrounding watershed to slow it down, waves of water washed out roadways, tore down fences and swept away a stone wall Samuel Aragon had spent nine years building by hand. The floodwaters changed how the couple felt about rain. "Now we start to get anxiety when the monsoon season comes," Elisa Aragon said, recounting how she would lie awake in bed, listening to the rumbling sound of water moving massive boulders down the drainage next to their home. They've since moved to higher ground, in a modular home on another piece of property nearby. They spend each day rebuilding their lives — no thanks, they say, to the federal government, which still hasn't settled the bulk of their damage claims. The couple said they initially planned to file claims with FEMA to obtain compensation for damages from the government-caused fire themselves. But they opted to seek legal assistance after encountering a complicated and costly system that would have required them to quickly complete a seemingly unsurmountable amount of work to prove their damages. Facing the prospect of having to secure the help of experts in high demand to help them prove the value of their lost trees, soil and fences, or to complete repairs within the short time frame required for reimbursement, they said, they decided to hire lawyers from the Singleton Schreiber law firm to help them navigate the process. Still, they wait. "We have filed our notice of loss and proof of loss," Elisa Aragon said. "We've done everything we can do. … I don't know why it's taking so long." 'Retraumatized' by FEMA failures Singleton Schreiber managing partner and former State Auditor Brian Colón said the Aragons are among 1,200 people the law firm has helped file their claims, many of whom are waiting to be compensated due to what he says is FEMA's failure to develop a comprehensive system for distributing money set aside for fire victims. "The problem is FEMA systems and staffing has failed miserably. … In fact, the victims of the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire have literally been retraumatized by FEMA's process and its failures," Colón said. 111822_JG_FEMA1.jpg (copy) Danielle M. Lucero, a San Miguel firefighter, speaks at a public meeting in November 2022 for victims of the Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon Fire to meet with Federal Emergency Management Agency officials. Not processing claims within 180 days, as required by the federal Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire Assistance Act, refusing to compensate victims for noneconomic damages — such as emotional distress — and not paying claims within 30 days are just some of the ways FEMA has failed, Colón said. A U.S. district judge ruled in December noneconomic damages were eligible for compensation under the law. FEMA has filed a motion seeking clarification on that opinion, however, according to a spokesperson. "Once the Court issues a ruling on that motion, FEMA will be in a position to evaluate its position on noneconomic damages and determine whether there is a path forward to provide compensation or whether it will appeal the ruling," External Affairs Officer Dianna Segura wrote in an email Friday. Colón said his firm has filed dozens of lawsuits on behalf of hundreds of claimants to force the government to comply with the rules. "There are a substantial number of families still hurting right now, and it doesn't seem the federal government has increased its urgency to put these families in a position to move on with their lives," Colón said. "We're not going to let up. We are going to file more lawsuits until the federal government rightfully compensates these victims," he added. Segura disputed Colón's characterization of the agency's performance, writing it's "not true." "The Claims Office is proud of the more than $2 billion dollars we have compensated Northern New Mexicans since March of 2023 when our Claims Office began its work to compensate those who suffered losses due to the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire and cascading events," she wrote. As of Friday, about 75% — or 15,496 of 20,644 of the claims filed — have been paid out, according to Segura. "Within six months of the signing of the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire Act, when FEMA began management of compensation requests from Northern New Mexicans, we opened offices and hired staff," she said. "We have consistently added staff over the last two years, until the recent hiring freeze across federal agencies, which includes the Claims Office." Some of the claims have been slowed by residents' inability to obtain documentation of ownership, "which has put another strain on the process," Segura said in an interview Friday. For example, in some cases residents were living in homes that had been gifted to them by a family member years prior without documentation. Recognizing many in the community didn't know or understand how to go about getting this paperwork, FEMA offices have hosted workshops and equipped advocates to educate claimants on that issue. "We recognize this has been a long process," Segura said.
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Yahoo
Community event for residents affected by Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – In 2022 the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire erupted in northern New Mexico, consuming over 340,000 acres across several counties. With some residents in the area considering themselves worse off now than just after the fire, a new grassroots effort 'A Community To Be Heard' is taking shape. Story continues below Crime: NMSP officer arrested in Gallup for aggravated DWI Albuquerque: One person killed in officer-involved shooting in NW ABQ Don't Miss: What we know about the deaths of Gene Hackman, wife A community to be heard event is set for March 29 from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. at Luna Community College, Las Vegas, NM. This event will provide a sounding board for community members impacted by the fire and give them a chance to discuss their issues and how they can be addressed. The plan is for the event to get a lot of media attention, plus local, state and national resource providers have also been invited to attend and address the ongoing issues affecting residents. For more information, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
