New Mexico Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernandez is grateful the state’s congressional delegation has secured an additional $1.4 billion in federal funding to assist individuals affected by the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak fire.

KOB 4 reports the extra relief money is on top of $2.5 billion that was already approved by President Joe Biden.

“We didn’t talk a lot about it, because we didn’t know whether we’d be able to pull it off,” Fernandez told KOB 4. “And we were able to pull it off!!”

While total recovery costs are expected to be nearly $6 billion, the actual amount remains unknown due to claims still needing to be filed, according to KOB 4. The additional $1.4 billion will be used for reforestation projects.

“Never before have we seen where a federally government-started fire has destroyed a whole forest,” Fernandez told KOB 4. “It is historic. So we knew we needed more money for it.”

Fernandez predicts wildlife victims may see first relief payments in March.

“This moment that we’re living in, in terms of Christmas, New Year, Hanukkah is about reflection and about hope, and what your delegation is doing is trying to provide you with the hope in a future where you can prosper,” Fernandez told KOB 4.

Fernandez explained people that file claims can also include potential losses from the wildfire.

“The Christmas trees that we are all buying, and we know that the Mora Christmas trees are the best,” Fernandez said. “The forest managers who lost those Christmas trees, they can apply for the loss of those Christmas trees, not just what you would have cut down today, but what you would have cut down next year, in the following year.”