In March, an Oregon jury awarded two hundred forty-two million dollars to sixteen people who lost homes and property in the 2020 Labor Day fires. It was the sixteenth trial against PacifiCorp over the same fires, and with Oregon's damages rules the number is expected to grow past three hundred million. The verdicts turned on a simple finding: the utility knew the conditions were dangerous, chose not to shut off power, and people paid for it.
New Mexico has lived through its own fire disasters. The rules here are different in places, but the core idea is the same. When a preventable decision burns a community, the people who made that decision can be held responsible.
What the Oregon verdicts actually established
Juries in the PacifiCorp cases found the utility negligent, reckless, and in some cases grossly negligent for keeping lines energized during a forecast windstorm in extreme fire conditions. The findings supported not only economic losses like homes and businesses but also noneconomic damages for what families went through. The lesson for utilities everywhere is that failing to act on known fire risk is not a defensible business decision.
The New Mexico picture: Hermits Peak and Calf Canyon
The largest fire in New Mexico history started in 2022 from two prescribed burns set by the United States Forest Service. Because the responsible party was the federal government, Congress created a dedicated compensation program, the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire Assistance Act, funded with nearly four billion dollars and administered by a FEMA claims office. That program pays for property, business, and certain personal losses without the need to prove negligence, and claimants have deadlines to file. Families who have not filed, or who received offers that seem low, should talk to a lawyer before accepting.
The federal program is unusual. Most fire cases in New Mexico follow ordinary negligence law.
When a utility or a private party starts a fire in New Mexico
Fires caused by power lines, equipment, contractors, railroads, and careless individuals are handled as negligence claims in New Mexico courts. The injured party must show the defendant failed to use reasonable care and that the failure caused the loss. Evidence typically includes maintenance records, weather warnings, vegetation management history, and the defendant's own risk assessments. Under New Mexico's comparative fault rules, damages are apportioned among everyone responsible, which is why identifying every contributor matters. Our article on comparative negligence explains how that works.
Damages in a New Mexico fire case can include:
- The home, outbuildings, fences, and personal property
- Livestock, crops, timber, and grazing loss on private and allotted land
- Business income and the cost of relocating
- Physical injuries and smoke-related illness
- Emotional distress where the law allows it
- Punitive damages for reckless conduct
When the fire started on government land
If a state or local agency is responsible, the New Mexico Tort Claims Act applies, with a ninety-day written notice requirement and a two-year filing limit. If a federal agency is responsible, the Federal Tort Claims Act requires an administrative claim within two years before any lawsuit. Both of these deadlines are much shorter than the three years most people assume, and both are unforgiving. See our guide to every New Mexico injury deadline.
Fires on the Navajo Nation and tribal trust land
Fire losses on the Navajo Nation raise jurisdiction questions before anything else. Grazing permits, homesite leases, and allotments are handled differently, and claims may belong in tribal court, federal court, or state court depending on who caused the fire and where. Our Navajo Nation jurisdiction guide covers the framework, and we work in all three systems from Gallup.
Insurance is the first claim, not the only one
Homeowner and ranch policies pay first, and they often pay less than the loss. Underinsurance is common in rural New Mexico because rebuilding costs have outrun coverage limits. An insurance payment does not end a negligence claim against the party that started the fire. It simply means the insurer may have a right to part of any later recovery, which experienced counsel accounts for in the settlement.
What families should do now
- Photograph and inventory everything that was lost, and keep receipts for every expense since.
- Get a copy of the official cause and origin report.
- Do not give recorded statements to the responsible party's insurer or agree to early payments that require a release.
- Note every deadline, especially if a government agency is involved.
- Talk to a lawyer who tries cases, because fire defendants settle when they believe a jury will hear the evidence.
Keeler & Keeler has represented New Mexico families against large defendants for more than twenty years, and our results reflect a willingness to take cases to trial. If a fire took your home, your land, or someone you love, call (505) 722-5608 for a free consultation.
General information, not legal advice. Fire claims involve deadlines and programs that change. Confirm your own dates with a lawyer.
