Director of New Mexico Wildfire Claims Office Placed on Leave Amid $500,000 Compensation Controversy

The director in charge of handling compensation claims for New Mexico’s Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire was put on administrative leave after reports showed he and his wife received more than $500,000 for smoke damage and other losses at their Angel Fire property, Source NM’s Patrick Lohmann reports.

Jay Mitchell and Deputy Director Jennifer Carbajal were placed on leave, according to an internal email reported by Source NM and the Albuquerque Journal on Feb. 12, 2026. The payments, including $266,000 for smoke and ash cleanup at Mitchell’s Angel Fire home, came from the $5.45 billion FEMA fund set up for victims of the 2022 fire, which has paid about $3.4 billion so far, according to documents obtained by Source NM and New Mexico PBS. Reports noted the property was far from the wildfire perimeter, drawing criticism because some victims have not yet been paid.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation called for Mitchell to resign, and protesters gathered outside the Las Vegas claims office. In a joint statement, Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján and Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández called the leave a "step in the right direction" but said questions remain about how the office is managed and held accountable.

FEMA said the leave does not reflect a finding of wrongdoing, and a claims office spokesperson said that, so far, there has been no finding of wrongdoing related to the payments. A senior FEMA official is now overseeing operations, and claims processing will continue uninterrupted, according to the email.

Editor’s note: Updated Oct. 31, 2026. This story is now part of Daily Reports, our New Mexico news roundup, and was revised to credit Source NM’s original reporting. Learn how Daily Reports works in our editorial standards.