Ruidoso fire and flooding victims frustrated with FEMA

RUIDOSO, N.M. – It’s been over three months since the South Fork and Salt Fires devastated Ruidoso area, causing more than $29 million in damage.

Since then, the community has also faced flood after flood. Luckily, they’ve gotten a break from Mother Nature, but they’re still picking up the pieces.

KOB 4 spoke to FEMA officials about how they’ve helped some fire and flooding victims. But there are residents who say they’ve been having trouble getting that help.

“It has been a nightmare. I’m telling you because I’ve gone over there like 21 times, and they haven’t responded,” said Priscilla Aguilar, a wildfire evacuee. 

Aguilar and Abel Montelongo are trying to get their money back. They had to leave Ruidoso Downs because of the South Fork and Salt Fires.

According to Montelongo, FEMA was supposed to help with those costs. However, after trying to track them down several times, he never got his money back. He did get $291 in food stamps/EBT money.

But it was flooding, not the fires, that impacted Aguilar and Montelongo’s home.

“Since the rain and the water is coming into the yard and getting under the house, it’s going to ruin all the piping,” Aguilar said.

Aguilar says they didn’t get the sandbags that officials promised them. At this point, they just want answers.

“At least they should have sent us a letter saying, ‘We’re not going to help you.’ Because that’s a promise that they made, not just to us, but to the whole community,” Aguilar said. 

They applied for flooding insurance after FEMA mentioned an exception with the National Flooding Insurance Program might expedite the process.

“Normally, when you buy a brand-new flood insurance policy, there is a 30-day waiting period,” said Roberto Ramirez, a director of FEMA’s hazard mitigation branch. “If you are in a post-wildfire situation, like we are in Ruidoso, those 30 days can change to one day.”

There are different qualifications. For example:

• If the fire happened on federal land
• If you bought a flooding insurance policy within 60 days of the fire being fully contained
• If the flooding results from, or was made worse by, a wildfire

“We’re still within at least those 60 days from fire containment,” Ramirez said. 

According to ArcGIS data, both fires were 100% contained Aug. 26. That means you have until Oct. 25 to apply.

“In Lincoln County, there’s only 252 policies. That’s the entire county. There’s a lot of people that don’t have flood insurance. Right now, we only had 73 claims since the disaster was declared,” Ramirez said. 

We reached out to FEMA on behalf of Aguilar and Montelongo. However, FEMA told us that they can’t discuss individual cases due to privacy.

KOB 4 was told that once someone receives a letter of denial, they can appeal it. Denials can also happen for a number of reasons.

FEMA sent KOB 4 the following statement:

“They have 60 days from the date that appears in the Determination Letter. That letter is not the last word.

When someone applies with FEMA, we send an Inspector to verify losses and damages, ownership of property or rental contract and identity of the person. If the applicant don’t keep the appointment the system generates a Letter.

Many times survivors don’t present sufficient evidence and FEMA ask for more documentation such as hotel receipts with letterhead, and the dates have to match with the evacuation dates, food receipts, contractors estimates are verified. Every case is unique.”