New Mexico sued the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the U.S. District Court, seeking over $61 million to fund the ongoing National Guard operations involving flood control, debris cleanup, among others, in a burn scar left by the 2022 Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire.
FEMA’s Hermit’s Peak-Calf Canyon Fire Claims Office has already turned down the claim twice. The first rejection came in 2024 after the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management submitted it. FEMA denied it again after an appeal.
The dispute started in April 2022, when two U.S. Forest Service prescribed burns got out of control and merged, burning 341,471 acres across four northern New Mexico counties.
Heavy rain in the burn scar area has led to flooding and debris flows.
Lujan Grisham sent the National Guard to help with evacuations, debris removal, and flood damage prevention. “Northern New Mexicans shouldn’t have to worry about their safety every time it rains,” Lujan Grisham said in a statement.
She said residents were first harmed by a fire caused by federal action. And these residents are now facing what the governor described as federal resistance to funding the ongoing response.
“It’s unconscionable that FEMA refuses to pay for a National Guard response that must continue for many years due to federal negligence,” she said. The work may continue until around 2034.
Congress established a special compensation program under the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire Assistance Act.
The program approved over $5 billion to help residents, businesses, and state and local governments affected by the fire and subsequent flooding, with an initial release of $2.5 billion in 2022, prioritizing claims from families and businesses most affected by the disaster. It had distributed about $3.8 billion by late August 2026.
The National Guard’s claim is one of several disputes between New Mexico and FEMA. State officials say 22 other state claims, totaling about $128 million, are still pending.
The state filed the lawsuit on September 8, but FEMA has yet to comment on the claim.
