The state’s biggest-ever wildfire in 2022 did just not upend the lives of thousands of New Mexicans. In fact, about a third of New Mexico state agencies endured some sort of financial loss when the fire the size of Los Angeles tore through the mountains of northern New Mexico. 

In the next couple weeks, the state’s emergency management department will submit an invoice totaling $445 million to the federal Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire claims office, listing a wide range of real or projected losses at 20 state agencies. 

Because the federal government started the fire, Congress in late 2022 gave the Federal Emergency Management Agency nearly $4 billion to compensate those affected, including families, businesses, governments and nonprofits. So far, it’s paid about $1.5 billion of it.

The deadline for the state’s initial claim, known as a “notice of loss,” is Dec. 20. That’s the same deadline for everyone else affected by the fire. 

Ali Rye, deputy secretary for the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, told Source New Mexico that her department spearheaded the calculation of losses across the state. That meant reaching out to 49 of approximately 68 state agencies, holding workshops and coordinating with FEMA officials about the best way to recoup money spent or revitalize the landscape and communities in and around the burn scar, she said. 

The result is a spreadsheet with a list of agencies seeking hundreds of millions of dollars. The wide variety on the list, including the Department of Health and the Tourism Department, shows the far-reaching consequences of a disaster like the biggest wildfire in New Mexico history.

One agency makes up the lion’s share of the state’s claim: The Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department is seeking about $270 million. The money would go for reforestation in the burn scar, fire mitigation in areas with medium burn severity, and funding to prevent future damage to areas untouched by the far, known as “green islands.”

See a breakdown below of all the state’s losses in the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire

The energy department’s s request also is for a reforestation center in the burn scar, which state officials estimated in April would include a $69 million ask from the FEMA fund. Officials hope the John T. Harrington Forestry Research Center will provide up to 390 million drought-resistant tree seedlings to restore burn-scarred forests throughout the Southwest, including 26 million such seedlings in the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire perimeter. 

390 million seedlings: Mora reforestation center sets sights on restoring NM forests

The second-biggest line item is for the New Mexico Environment Department, which is seeking $120 million to do comprehensive well-water testing in the area for the next 12 years. Post-fire flooding, which often carries contaminants into drinking water, is expected in the area for at least the next several years. Some private wells are also seeing their depths decrease, Rye said. 

The smallest ask on the list, for $3,000, is from the New Mexico Livestock Board, which used vehicles to transport animals who lost their grazing fields and bought, stored and distributed additional feed. 

The state’s Office of Broadband Access and Expansion is also anticipating payments for lost towers and risk reduction for fiber optic internet, according to the spreadsheet, but it did not have a calculated figure as of this week. 

Some unexpected costs for the fire come from the State Personnel Office, which is seeking $25,000, in part, for “benefits, programs, mental health services or reimbursement for state employees who were impacted by the fires.” 

The state’s Regulation and Licensing Department is also seeking $2 million to hire dedicated code inspectors to hasten the permitting of newly constructed homes and other structures, plus to crack down on potential contractor fraud. 

And the New Mexico Department of Health is seeking $250,000 to, among other things, recoup the fees it waived by providing free birth certificates to fire victims who presumably lost theirs in the fire. 

While the total claim is for $445.8 million, Rye stressed that her office, at the direction of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, will be judicious as it pushes FEMA to release the funds. Rye cited the ongoing delays for individual claims, including for those who lost their homes in the fire.

“The biggest thing that the Gov has in mind is not pushing forward with …any of the other notice of losses until she sees the compensation going out and individuals are being made whole,” Rye said. “She doesn’t want to take away from the compensation that’s due to those individuals.”

About 1/3 of those who lost homes in Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire have gotten final payment offers

About one-third of the 272 households that reported total losses of their homes have received final payment offers, according to FEMA. 

The only claim the state has really pushed far, so far, is for about $6 million for the New Mexico National Guard, Rye said. The guard really needs that money to continue protecting infrastructure, rebuilding roads and helping get people back into their homes, Rye said. The guard’s total ask is about $61 million. 

On a case-by-case basis, Rye said, the state will decide whether to push forward with a “proof of loss,” which is a finalized claim, depending on how quickly money for individual victims is flowing. 

Ultimately, the state may choose to “eat the cost” on some claims, Rye said. “But you won’t know until she starts seeing better numbers come out of the claim offices.”

It will be awhile before the state sees any of the compensation it’s seeking. After submitting a notice of loss by Dec. 20, FEMA has up to 180 days to respond with a final payment offer. 

The emergency management department  calculated the losses without the help of law firms who have solicited governmental individual clients since the fire started. 

The New Mexico Department of Justice late last year did hire a law firm, Edelson PC out of Texas, to, “if needed,” represent the state for potential litigation resulting from the fire, according to spokesperson Lauren Rodriguez. So far, as far as Rodriguez is aware, the law firm has not filed any litigation or claims on behalf of the state.