New Mexico sues feds over refusing to reimburse state for $61M in wildfire costs

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Tuesday announced that her office had sued the Federal Emergency Management Agency for failing to reimburse the New Mexico National Guard for at least $61 million in costs it incurred fighting a 2022 wildfire that the federal government inadvertently ignited.

The 2022 Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire burned a roughly 534-square-mile area in northern New Mexico after two federal prescribed burns escaped containment lines and merged into the state’s biggest-ever wildfire. 

Congress later that year approved a multi-billion-dollar compensation program for families, businesses and government agencies that suffered losses or incurred costs while responding to the blaze. They also tasked FEMA with overseeing the compensation fund. 

New Mexico governor preparing FEMA lawsuit over outstanding $445M wildfire claim 

But New Mexico, which has filed a claim for damages from the fire, has not received reimbursement for costs related to the National Guard, which deployed to the area in 2022 to help people safely flee the fire, remove debris and prevent flood damage. The FEMA Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire Claims Office, which is tasked with distributing the $5.5 billion compensation fund, has instead twice denied the state’s claims for the National Guard, the governor’s office said Tuesday. 

“It’s unconscionable that FEMA refuses to pay for a National Guard response that must continue for many years due to federal negligence,” Lujan Grisham said in a statement Tuesday. 

Spokespersons for FEMA or the claims office did not immediately respond to SourceNM’s request for comment late Tuesday. The lawsuit itself was also not immediately available in a federal court record system. 

In addition to the $61 million in National Guard costs, the state has 22 other claims pending before the FEMA office. In total, the state is seeking $128 million in compensation from the claims office, according to the governor’s office.

As of Aug. 31, the office had distributed roughly $3.8 billion from the fund, according to the latest figures from FEMA.