(Pamela Cosel, Headline USA) President Joe Biden traveled to New Mexico this past Saturday to view the devastation caused by wildfires that have burned more than 319,000 acres in that state.
Fires have destroyed hundreds of homes, but the damage shouldn’t have happened.
The fire spread in April, after a planned burn was not fully extinguished by firefighters, according to officials with the U.S. Forest Service. It reignited and spread into residential areas.
Biden committed U.S. taxpayer money to cover the costs 100% after he viewed the destruction. New Mexico officials had asked Biden for the federal funds after learning typically federal assistance covers only 75% of fire-related damage costs, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued a statement which said, after learning the results of the investigations into the origins of the fires, she made the request of Biden to have the federal government take full responsibility and pay 100% of the costs.
But government payouts might just be starting, as a result of Biden administration failures.
At least 50 residents from the town of Mora who saw their lives ruined and property destroyed by the massive wildfires are suing the U.S. Forest Service for failing to provide adequate information about the government’s role in sparking the blazes, reported the Santa Fe New Mexican.
The plaintiffs, among other remedies, are asking the court to declare the Forest Service improperly withheld the burn records and to make them available.
More than 300 homes have been destroyed by the fires, with estimates saying that count could reach as many as 1,000 structures.
Legal Insurrection reported that investigators found that the source of a second fire lay dormant through snowstorms in the region and flared up again, to spread in hot and windy conditions.
With Grisham’s request to put 100% of the blame for the damages on the U.S. Forest Service, it forced Biden to admit the responsibility for the losses falling on the shoulders of the federal government.
As one resident told Reuters, “This is not a natural disaster, this was man-made by a government entity.”
