HM 62 — IMPACT OF HERMIT'S PEAK/ CALF CANYON FIRE

HOUSE MEMORIAL 62 57 TH LEGISLATURE- STATE OF NEW MEXICO - FIRST SESSIO, 2025 INTRODUCED BY Anita Gonzales 6 8 10 A MEMORIAL RECOGNIZING THE IMPACT OF THE HERMIT'S PEAK/CALF CANYON FIRE ON THE RESIDENTS AND COMMUNITIES OF NORTHEASTERN NEW MEXICO.

145 WHEREAS, on April 6, 2022, the United States forest service lost control of a prescribed burn due to windy conditions, resulting in the Hermit's Peak fire;

and e t 17 WHEREAS, on April 9, 2022, an improperly extinguished pile w l n d 18 burn that the United States forest service had lit in January = = 19 a l rekindled, resulting in the Calf Canyon fire;

and i a e r 20 WHEREAS, on April 22, 2022, the Hermit's Peak fire and the a t m m 21 Calf Canyon fire merged;

and d r e 22 WHEREAS, the merged Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon fire grew to c e s k 23 become the most destructive fire in New Mexico history, e a n b 24 u [ surpassing the 2012 Whitewater-Baldy complex fire;

and WHEREAS, the Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon fire burned three .231997.1 hundred forty-one thousand four hundred seventy-one acres;

and WHEREAS, as of January 2025, the federal emergency management agency had only paid out approximately one billion HM 62 Page 1 eight hundred million dollars ($1,800,000,000) in claims of the five billion four hundred fifty million dollars ($5,450,000,000) allocated for claims by the United States government;

and e t 17 WHEREAS, many residents and communities within the burn w l n d 18 scar are dealing with subsequent and unprecedented cascading = = 19 a l effects, including severe flooding, emotional trauma and loss i a e r 20 of employment;

and a t m m 21 WHEREAS, many local groups and individuals have dedicated d r e 22 efforts to supporting the recovery of the region, including c e s k 23 Janna Lopez of neighbors helping neighbors fire relief and e a n b 24 Yolanda Cruz, who administers the Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon u [ fire recovery page on facebook;

and .231997.1 - 2 - WHEREAS, the residents and communities of northeastern New Mexico continue to struggle with the losses of their homes, ranches, businesses, forests and recreation areas as well as displacement, emotional trauma and the loss of cultural identity and traditions;

and WHEREAS, the New Mexico congressional delegation, including Representative Teresa Leger Fernandez, Senator Martin Heinrich and Senator Ben Ray Lujan,Luján, have addressed the HM 62 Page 2 federal emergency management agency with constituents' concerns;

and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon fire claimants are entitled to full compensation from the federal government for the claimants' losses and require resources and e t 17 legislation to address cascading effects and prevent disastrous w l n d 18 fires in the future;

and = = 19 a l BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be i a e r 20 transmitted to the governor, the New Mexico congressional a t m m 21 delegation and the director of the federal emergency management d r e 22 agency's Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon fire claims office.

cHM e62 sPage k 23 - 3 -25 e a n b 24 u [ .231997.1