Residents of Las Vegas, New Mexico, aren’t very happy that President Biden viewed the devastation caused by the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire from the air, but didn’t bother to visit with anyone on the ground.
President Biden looked from Air Force One as he viewed the damage from the largest fire in the state's history that forced so many residents from their homes and destroyed their property and businesses. “I think he should come and see all the damage that was caused here in our community,” Lorreine Montoya, a Las Vegas resident, told KOB.
Another resident Nell Rodgers said, “It traumatized me. I spent days crying. I had to leave the state just so I could stop crying. It’s traumatizing to lose everything you’ve built.”
President Biden remained in the state long enough to promise the federal government will cover 100% of the cost of recovery from the fire. But residents are already experiencing frustration in trying to get some assistance.
“It seems like everybody’s trying to point everybody else to someone else, so nobody has to take actual accountability,” Graciela Calderon, a Las Vegas resident, told KOB. Her shed containing $8,000 worth of property, burned down nearly a month ago. Since then she has had trouble finding someone to help her.
“Oh, you need to talk to FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency); Oh FEMA you don’t qualify, check with Red Cross; Oh, it wasn’t your permanent dwelling? Check with the city, see if they have any, you know?” she said describing the resistance she has endured. “Everybody had somebody else to send you to and nobody was willing to say, ‘Oh, yeah, we can help you. I’m struggling just to get gas to come to work. And so, thinking of buying building materials, again is, it’s very stressful.”