WASHINGTON D.C. — U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, underscored the challenges that rural and tribal communities experience in responding to disasters, including fires, drought, and flooding during a recent Senate hearing. Luján’s remarks during the hearing specifically recognized the South Fork and Salt fires, flooding in Medanales, and the ongoing recovery following the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire in 2022.
He started by talking about the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire.
"I'm grateful for this discussion after what has been a difficult and devastating fire season and flooding season in New Mexico," Luján said. "Two years after we saw the largest fire in our state's history – a fire started as a prescribed burn."
He then moved on to talk about the South Fork and Salt fires.
"Last month, two fires that started on the Mescalero Apache Reservation quickly grew out of control," Luján said. "Hotter and drier conditions from climate change, along with high winds, helped the fire spread throughout southern New Mexico and burn over 25,000 acres of land. The fire that started one afternoon, by that night, a town had been evacuated. It spread so quickly and it was so dry."
He continued to talk about the damage southern New Mexico saw by then switching to the topic of flooding.
"What the fire didn’t take out, the floods did," he said. "Hundreds of homes and buildings have been destroyed by fires and flooding. But the impacts on rural infrastructure don’t end there. ... The cost can become overwhelming especially for rural communities that have fewer resources and less capacity for resilience planning."
Luján pointed out that New Mexico and other western states are much bigger than the ones on the East Coast.
"Some eastern states could fit inside some of our counties in New Mexico," he said. "When [fires or floods] happen, based on the current rules, if we don't hit the population density or cost threshold, it is not a national disaster – it is a state disaster. For western states like New Mexico, it is just not fair. It doesn't apply today with the current rules we have based on treating all American citizens equally."
He urged his fellow senators to stand up and help each other out.
"We need to find ways to work together – Democrats and Republicans," Luján said. "We are one big American family, and I know we can do better to make sure the smallest communities in America get the same benefits as the biggest cities across the beautiful country we call home."
