LAS VEGAS, N.M. — It’s been three years since the Calf Canyon/Hermit’s Peak fire devastated northern New Mexico. And still, too many survivors are struggling to get help from the federal government, even though the U.S. Forest Service caused the devastation.

Even now, the burn scare left behind has also caused intense flooding. In 2023, FEMA set up a claims office to help people build back what they lost, but some say they still haven’t received a dime.

“The last three years have been a living hell,” said Las Vegas resident and small-business owner Sara Mathews.

For many New Mexicans impacted by the Calf Canyon/Hermit’s Peak fire, the past three years have been fight after fight.

“Off the top of my head, I can count like 10 businesses that have closed since the fires, and in a town as small as ours, that’s significant,” Mathews said.

Mathews said she hasn’t received any help from FEMA, although Congress set aside $4 billion in assistance.

“We’ve lost hundreds of thousands of dollars,” she said. “It’s been documented. We can’t get FEMA to move their feet.”

During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Mathews had to close her first business, Borracho’s Craft Booze and Brews. She opened Prairie Hill Cafe in 2021.

“We invested all of our money into this entity, only to be faced with this fire,” she said.

Ultimately, the cafe couldn’t survive the consequences. It just recently closed. 

Mathews said between the fire, the burn scar flooding and water contamination, she’s stuck in a frustrating cycle with FEMA as she tries to get some help.

“This happened three years ago, and we can’t get paid a single penny,” Mathews continued. “Yeah, we can document it, but at some point it feels kind of pointless. This my third or fourth business navigator. He’s asked me for the same paperwork five times that I’ve given to navigator after navigator after navigator after navigator for it just to continue falling through the cracks.”

On top of that, Las Vegas is now a “disaster area,” which Mathews said has made her insurance skyrocket by $12,000 in one year.

“How do these small mom-and-pop businesses in one of the poorest counties in the state afford those kind of increases?” she asked. “Everyone’s home insurance has gone up. Vehicle insurance has gone up.”

Mathews said she is planning on reopening Borrachos in June. She said she’s trying to hold on as long as she can, because her family has been in Las Vegas for four generations.

“This is our ancestral land, and for some of us, it makes us dig in our heels harder and say, ‘You’re not going to burn us out. You’re not going to smoke us out.’ But not everyone has that option financially to hold on,” Mathews said.

KOB4 reached out to FEMA to see if we could get a timeline on the payouts but wasn’t given one. Instead, the claims office said it’s committed to compensating New Mexicans impacted by this fire. The office’s full statement is below.

In total, FEMA said it has handed out $2.27 billion out of nearly $4 billion designated. The majority, $1.76 billion, has gone to individuals. $331 million has been given to businesses.

FEMA Claim’s Office Statement:

The Claims Office remains committed to compensating New Mexicans who were impacted by the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon fire and subsequent cascading events in a fair manner to the maximum extent and in accordance with the Fire Assistance Act.