Victims of New Mexico’s Largest Wildfire Say FEMA Delayed Relief

The Federal Emergency Management Agency failed to comply with requirements to process claims for victims of the Hermit’s Peak Fire within a required 180-day window, according to a suit in the District of New Mexico.

Nine victims who suffered property damage from the fire sued FEMA alleging the agency delayed compensating claimants in direct violation of the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire Assistance Act, and failed to comply with the act’s requirement to process claims within 180 days. Congress enacted the act to compensate victims after a US Forest Service prescribed burn got out of control in the Sante Fe National ...