Legal Dispute Emerge Just After New Mexico's Devastating Wildfire: Assessing the Value of Victims' Pain and Loss

Due to the unintentional ignition of the wildfire caused by two controlled burns conducted by the U.S. Forest Service, individuals such as Sandoval and other affected parties are limited to seeking reimbursement from a federal claims office solely for tangible assets with a monetary value, such as vehicles, residences, and livestock. This is the challenging situation confronting numerous inhabitants of northern New Mexico, who, eighteen months later, continue to grapple with the aftermath of the largest wildfire ever recorded in the state. Despite the provisions outlined in New Mexico legislation, the federal government asserts its inability to adhere to these guidelines.

Meg Sandoval at the site of her former mobile home on her family’s ranch in Rociada, New Mexico, which was ravaged by the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire. Until recently, she was too traumatized to visit the property. Credit:Adria Malcolm for ProPublica

Hermits Peak, not far from where one of the U.S. Forest Service’s prescribed burns escaped and grew into a wildfire, is visible from Sandoval’s family property. She said flames were more than 100 feet high the day the fire ripped through her family’s ranch, burning so hot that glass in her house melted and guardrails on the nearby road “melted into metal ribbons.” Credit:Adria Malcolm for ProPublica

Smoke plumes from the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire rise above a mountain ridge near Las Vegas, New Mexico, in May 2022. Credit:Adria Malcolm

First image: debris and the burned remains of Sandoval’s home. Second image: Sandoval shows a photograph of her and her dog, Osa, at her home before the fire. She escaped with her dog, but her cat, Jinx, died. Credit:Adria Malcolm for ProPublica

The remains of Sandoval’s home Credit:Adria Malcolm for ProPublica

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