After the U.S. government started the largest wildfire in New Mexico’s recorded history in April, it is asking victims to share recovery costs on private land, jeopardizing relief efforts, according to residents and state officials.
The blaze was sparked by U.S. Forest Service (USFS) prescribed fires to reduce wildfire risk. The burns went out of control after a series of missteps, torching 432 residences and over 530 square miles (1373 square km) of mostly privately owned forests and meadows, much of it held by members of centuries-old Indo-Hispano ranching communities.
“Today I’m announcing the federal government’s covering 100% of the cost,” President Joe Biden said during a visit to New Mexico in June. Biden was announcing a disaster declaration that covered debris removal and emergency protective measures.
But federal cost-sharing statutes on other federal relief programs are limiting Biden’s authority and exposing holes in the government safety net meant to help survivors and restore landscapes.
It is a system more Americans will turn to as extreme fires and flooding become the climate change norm.
“I DIDN’T CAUSE THIS DAMN FIRE”
Biden’s measure was meant to bridge FEMA relief and a congressional bill that may pass in the fall to provide 100% federal compensation for losses from the so-called Hermit’s Peak Calf Canyon fire.
Daniel Encinias was among survivors who met Biden and was told by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials he would get timely support at little or no cost.
He, his wife Lori, three teenage children, four dogs and eight cats are living in a camping trailer next to the ashes of their home in Tierra Monte, 35 miles northeast of Santa Fe.
Encinias submitted an application to the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to fix his well, but was told to share 25% of costs based on a federal statute that could not be waived as it did not fall under Biden’s declaration.
Encinias said he was told by NRCS officials his application would be considered in September and recovery work would begin six to 12 months thereafter if he was accepted
So like many fire survivors in this low-income area who have no insurance, the rancher and retired electrician did the work himself.
“Why the hell am I going to pay anything when I didn’t cause this damn fire?” said Encinias, 55, as he fed his cattle hay he was forced to buy after his baler was torched.
An official for the NRCS’ local office in Las Vegas, New Mexico, where Encinias applied for support directed questions to the national office. Officials there did not respond to requests for comment.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.