HOUSE MEMORIAL 62

57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2025

INTRODUCED BY

Anita Gonzales

 

 

 

 

 

A MEMORIAL

RECOGNIZING THE IMPACT OF THE HERMIT'S PEAK/CALF CANYON FIRE ON THE RESIDENTS AND COMMUNITIES OF NORTHEASTERN NEW MEXICO.

 

     WHEREAS, on April 6, 2022, the United States forest service lost control of a prescribed burn due to windy conditions, resulting in the Hermit's Peak fire; and

     WHEREAS, on April 9, 2022, an improperly extinguished pile burn that the United States forest service had lit in January rekindled, resulting in the Calf Canyon fire; and

     WHEREAS, on April 22, 2022, the Hermit's Peak fire and the Calf Canyon fire merged; and

     WHEREAS, the merged Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon fire grew to become the most destructive fire in New Mexico history, surpassing the 2012 Whitewater-Baldy complex fire; and

     WHEREAS, the Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon fire burned three hundred forty-one thousand four hundred seventy-one acres; and

     WHEREAS, April 6, 2025 will mark three years since the start of the Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon fire; and

     WHEREAS, as of April 6, 2025, the federal emergency management agency will still be working to compensate losses across northeastern New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, as of January 2025, the federal emergency management agency had only paid out approximately one billion eight hundred million dollars ($1,800,000,000) in claims of the five billion four hundred fifty million dollars ($5,450,000,000) allocated for claims by the United States government; and

     WHEREAS, many claimants from the Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon fire burn scar, including many who have suffered the total losses of homes, ranches or businesses, are still waiting for compensation; and

     WHEREAS, many residents and communities within the burn scar are dealing with subsequent and unprecedented cascading effects, including severe flooding, emotional trauma and loss of employment; and

     WHEREAS, many local groups and individuals have dedicated efforts to supporting the recovery of the region, including Janna Lopez of neighbors helping neighbors fire relief and Yolanda Cruz, who administers the Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon fire recovery page on facebook; and

     WHEREAS, the residents and communities of northeastern New Mexico continue to struggle with the losses of their homes, ranches, businesses, forests and recreation areas as well as displacement, emotional trauma and the loss of cultural identity and traditions; and

     WHEREAS, the New Mexico congressional delegation, including Representative Teresa Leger Fernandez, Senator Martin Heinrich and Senator Ben Ray Lujan, have addressed the federal emergency management agency with constituents' concerns;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon fire be recognized as the most destructive fire in New Mexico history; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon fire claimants are entitled to full compensation from the federal government for the claimants' losses and require resources and legislation to address cascading effects and prevent disastrous fires in the future; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the governor, the New Mexico congressional delegation and the director of the federal emergency management agency's Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon fire claims office.

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