New Mexico
About 1/3 of those who lost homes in Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire have gotten final payment offers • Source New Mexico
The federal office overseeing compensation for New Mexico’s biggest-ever wildfire has finally released numbers showing it has made final payment offers to about a third of people who lost their homes in the blaze more than two years ago.
New Mexico’s congressional delegation had been pressing the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire claims office for that number and other information, asking what was taking so long.
The claims office – overseen by the Federal Emergency Management Agency – is tasked with paying out nearly $4 billion in compensation for the fire, caused by botched prescribed burns in early 2022. According to the latest figures, it’s paid out about $1.5 billion of that, including for lost business revenue, reforestation and homes lost in the fire.
As of Nov. 20, the office had received 272 claims for total losses of homes in the wildfire, according to responses the federal office gave to questions members of the delegation sent earlier this month.
Of those, 174 claimants received at least partial payments for their losses, and 98 of them received a final payment offer, according to the response letter shared with the delegation early last week and provided Wednesday to Source New Mexico.
It’s not clear from the response letter how much has been paid to those who lost their homes, or how many of the homeowners accepted the final payment offer, which is known as a “letter of determination.” Claimants who are unhappy with the amount the office offered can appeal.
The status of those who lost their homes in the fire has been an open question for months. A group of protesters gathered in front of the office’s Santa Fe headquarters in late October, calling on the office to prioritize compensation for those who lost their homes over more-trivial losses like smoke damage.
The office had paid about $400 million for smoke damage to about 4,200 claimants in a 2,200-square-mile area as of Sept. 25, using an internal map and a standardized calculator to quickly distribute payments averaging $94,500 each.
Internal FEMA smoke map shows large area where northern NM residents need little to prove losses
U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján, as well as U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, all New Mexico Democrats, sent a letter Nov. 1 to the office’s leadership, saying “many New Mexicans continue to wait for the relief and compensation they are owed.” The letter asked 13 questions on a range of topics.
Heinrich also questioned FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell about the issue during a hearing two weeks later. Heinrich told Criswell it seemed to him that those who lost everything in the fire were at the back of the line and asked her what the claims office was doing to address it.
Criswell responded that total-loss claims are more complicated and take more time, but the office has increased staff this year to handle the deluge of claims. The deadline to file an initial claim for losses incurred in the fire and ensuing floods, known as a “notice of loss,” is Dec. 20.
The claims office response letter also says officials created a “reconstruction team” that is entirely focused on compensating those who suffered a total loss of their primary or secondary homes.
The back-and-forth over delays in compensation occurs as an additional $1.5 billion in compensation hangs in the balance. President Joe Biden carved out the extra funding for wildfire survivors in a nearly $100 billion disaster response package he’s hoping Congress will approve by the end of the year.
If approved, that would bring the total awarded for compensation $5.45 billion for the state’s biggest-ever wildfire, one that destroyed several hundred homes and burned through a 534-square mile area.
Spokespersons for Heinrich and Luján did not respond to requests for comment on the office’s response letter.
The delegation is hopeful legislation will extend the deadline from the rapidly approaching Dec. 20 deadline, but they urged those who suffered losses to apply right away, given the uncertainty with a new Congress and a narrow timeframe.
Office defends food loss policy
One of the 13 questions the delegation asked related to how the office pays people for food lost in the fire. Across the burn scar, many families in rural areas kept stores of food in extra freezers, which were either destroyed or stopped working amid widespread power outages during the fire.
FEMA’s claims office pays people for lost food based on the gender and age of the claimant, based off another federal agency’s guidance. A man aged 19 to 50 receives $104.70 for a week’s worth of lost food. A woman in the same age range gets $93.
The policy is based on the United States Department of Agriculture’s food plans, which the agency says have been created since 1894 to “illustrate how a healthy diet can be achieved at various costs.”
Claims office pays men more than women for food lost in state’s biggest wildfire
The delegation’s Nov. 1 letter asked the claims office how it was “ensuring equity in food loss payments,” and, if it were to change its policy to make it more equitable, how it could make up the difference to those who had previously been shortchanged.
The office’s response letter says leaders have no intention of changing the food loss policy, however. It did a “thorough review” of the process after consulting with Heinrich’s office and the USDA.
“Our review concluded that our current standardized rates for food loss are consistent with the methodology used in the creation of the USDA Food Plan tables,” the letter reads.
Some wildfire survivors told Source New Mexico they thought the process was unnecessarily complicated and unfair. The office has previously said it cannot calculate how much money has been paid to date for food losses, including how much more men have been paid than women.
The office, in its response, also doubled down on its practice of paying different hourly wages based on the county in which do-it-yourself repairs were done. The same work would be reimbursed at $18.97 an hour in Mora County, for example, versus $29.49 an hour in Santa Fe County.
It said the hourly wages were calculated based on analyses of Census and federal Bureau of Labor Statistics data, which considered the costs of goods and services that are typically higher in urban areas than rural areas.
COLUMBIA, MISSOURI – NOVEMBER 22: Habtom Samuel #713 of the New Mexico Lobos runs during the Division I Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championship held at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course on November 22, 2025 in Columbia, Missouri. (Photo by Amy Kontras/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
NCAA Photos via Getty Images
When it comes to championship racing, timing is everything.
New Mexico’s Habtom Samuel certainly knew this heading into the NCAA Cross Country Championships at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia, Missouri, on Saturday.
Making matters more pressing, though, was the fact that the University of New Mexico junior had finished second at nationals over the prior two seasons—in 2024, in fact, he lost one of his spikes and still finished second overall.
This time, though, he didn’t want to leave a doubt.
And that’s exactly what Samuel did, unleashing a spectacular move with 1,500 meters left to pull away from the field and claim his first individual win in a time of 28:33.9 over 10,000 meters. Meters from the finish, Samuel drew out his arms and weaved his way to the finish, soaking in the moment.
COLUMBIA, MISSOURI – NOVEMBER 22: Habtom Samuel #713 of the New Mexico Lobos runs during the Division I Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championship held at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course on November 22, 2025 in Columbia, Missouri. (Photo by Amy Kontras/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
NCAA Photos via Getty Images
“I said to my coach, ‘I’m going to surprise you guys today,’” Samuel told reporters afterward. “I wanted to be patient. I understood the game and made a good decision.”
Samuel’s 1,000-meter split over the ninth kilometer was 2:37.4, a time that equals out to a 4:13 mile. That surge mattered in the long run, because it put distance between him and his competition. In fact, it put him three seconds on Wake Forest’s Rocky Hansen and Oklahoma State’s Brian Musau, and four seconds on Oklahoma State’s Denis Kipngetich and five on Washington State’s Solomon Kipchoge.
“I kind of planned on not coming with the guys through 400 (meters) or something,” Samuel said. “I know some guys at 1,500, maybe they gonna kick me out, so I prefer to just run longer and just run hard. That was my plan.”
Hansen, the first American collegian to finish and one of just two inside the top 10, was second in 28:38, while Kipchoge was third in 28:40.1. Musau was fourth, while Oklahoma State’s Fouad Messaoudi and Kipngetich were fifth and sixth.
All were vying for the win down the stretch.
How The Men’s NCAA Cross Country Championships Shook Out
It wasn’t all bad news for the Oklahoma State men, though.
The Cowboys totaled a low of 57 points, winning their second championship since 2023 under head coach Dave Smith.
The win was also a bit of validation for the 19-year head coach, who in the days leading up to the championship was involved in a somewhat heated discussion about the use of international athletes on NCAA rosters.
In a story by the Desert News that published before NCAAs, BYU coach Ed Eyestone commented on the proliferation of overseas companies specializing in the signing of African runners to U.S. colleges for fees, saying “I always felt I’d be embarrassed to have seven foreigners on the team.”
Oklahoma State’s top four runners on Saturday were recruited and signed internationally, while its fifth, senior Ryan Schoppe, joined the Cowboys from a Texas high school in 2020.
Smith was apparently not happy with the comment and countered in a pre-race press conference.
“I have no problem with anybody running their program within the rules and doing things the way they should be done,” Smith said. “If I believe that someone doesn’t like a rule or doesn’t like a situation in the NCAA, don’t b**** about it. Go change it. Get involved. Get involved in the sport. Get involved in leadership and make change the way change is supposed to be made. Otherwise, shut up and coach your team. That’s what I think about this stuff.”
Elsewhere, New Mexico’s men slotted in second overall in the team race with 82 points, while one of the pre-race favorites, Iowa State, was third with 158 points. Syracuse and Oregon were fourth and fifth, respectively.
COLUMBIA, MISSOURI – NOVEMBER 22: Doris Lemngole #109 of the Alabama Crimson Tide runs during the Division I Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championship held at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course on November 22, 2025 in Columbia, Missouri. (Photo by Amy Kontras/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
NCAA Photos via Getty Images
Doris Lemngole, Jane Hedengren Battle In Women’s NCAA Cross Country Championships
In the women’s race, a two-way battle emerged between defending NCAA champion Doris Lemngole and BYU star freshman Jane Hedengren.
After leading for the first half of the race, Hedengren succumbed to Lemngole’s press at about the 3,000-meter mark, though she stayed on the runner’s hip almost until the near end.
It wasn’t until the final last meters–about less than 800 meters to go–that the 23-year-old Lemngole finally began to leg past Hedengren.
The Alabama junior went on to claim her second straight national title over 6,000 meters, this time crossing the line in 18:25.4. She’s the first repeat champion since Villanova’s Sheila Reid in 2010 and 2011.
Hedengren was vying to become the first freshman since Suzie Tuffey in 1985 to win a national cross-country title.
Florida senior Hilda Olemomoi was third in 18:46.4, while BYU’s Riley Chamberlain was fourth in 18:47.0.
The NC State Women Win Their Fifth Cross Country Title Since 2021
Next brought home NC State’s title run.
Between Hannah Gapes and Grace Hartman, who finished fifth and sixth, the two juniors led the Wolfpack to their fifth national title since 2021 under head coach Laurie Henes.
NC State, which nabbed a three-peat from 2021-2023, scored 114 points and outlasted BYU’s own bid for a repeat.
The Cougars were second with 130 points, securing their fifth first- or second-place finish since 2019 under head coach Diljeet Taylor.
Oregon was third overall with 153 points, while New Mexico was fourth and Florida fifth at the NCAA Cross Country Championships.
New Mexico
Deyton Albury scores 13 for New Mexico in 80-78 win over Mississippi State in Hall of Fame Classic
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Deyton Albury scored 13 points for New Mexico, including the go-ahead layup with 30 seconds left in an 80-78 win over Mississippi State in the Hall of Fame Classic consolation game on Friday night.
Albury’s layup came off a turnover on a bad pass, sending the Lobos (4-2) on a fast break before Uriah Tenette was fouled. Tenette hit both shots from the free-throw line with seven seconds left to end the game.
Thomislav Buljan earned his third double-double of the season, finishing with 19 points and 21 rebounds, breaking a freshman program record for most rebounds in a game. Tenette added 13 points, and Antonio Chol had 12.
Mississippi State (2-3) was led by Josh Hubbard, who scored 29 points and dished out four assists. He shot 11 of 25 from the field and six of 13 from beyond the arc. Jayden Epps added 21 points.
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