The Federal Emergency Management Agency is holding two job fairs this week to staff three field claim offices charged with helping residents impacted by a historic fire.
“We’re hiring full-time positions to support the claims office,” said Angela Byrd, spokeswoman for FEMA, which is overseeing the claims process tied to the massive and devastating Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire earlier this year.
The separate Hermits Peak and Calf Canyon fires, both of which started due to prescribed burns and merged to become one fire, ended up consuming over 340,000 acres near Las Vegas, N.M., making it the largest wildfire in the contiguous United States this year.
Though the fire took no lives, it caused extensive displacement and property damage for many residents in Mora and San Miguel counties.
In November, FEMA announced it wold start taking “notice of loss” claims to get the process going. As of Friday, FEMA had received fewer than 200 of those notices, Byrd said.
But more will likely come, and FEMA also announced in November it will open on-the-ground claims offices in New Mexico to help those hit by the fire. Byrd said those offices will be in Santa Fe, Las Vegas and Mora and will likely be up and running in early January.
During a FEMA public hearing on the claims process held in Las Vegas, many impacted by the fire urged the federal agency to hire locals who understand the culture and traditions of their communities, where farmers and ranchers struggle in the best of times.
“You’re not valuing buildings in the same way or the land or the trees in the same way” as we are, one man told FEMA officials at the meeting.
Others said hiring a local to oversee the claims process or serve as an ombudsman can help win the public’s trust.
“We do hope we have New Mexican residents come out [for the fair],” Byrd said. “We’re looking for people to work hard and do a great job and who want to have an opportunity to serve and help.”
Among the job openings is one for a chief ombudsman, or advocate, for survivors of the fire. Other available positions — about 20 in all — include jobs as customer navigators, claims representatives, inventory management specialists, supply management specialists and a public affairs specialist.
There’s also at least one driver’s position open for a mobile communications office vehicle operator, a position that also requires some background in telecommunications, Byrd said.
The salaries range from about $55,000 to over $123,000, according to a news release FEMA sent out about the job fairs. The first fair will be held Wednesday in Santa Fe and the second will be Thursday in Las Vegas.
Byrd said any U.S. citizen age 18 or over with a high school diploma or equivalent certificate can apply for the jobs. She urged job candidates to bring “plenty of copies of their résumés” and to be ready to be interviewed on the spot by a FEMA employee.
She said she could not estimate how many people might show up or how long the process might take. But she said anyone who cannot spend much time at the job fairs can drop off a résumé or send one via email to fema-hermits-peak-jobs@fema.dhs.gov.
“We don’t want to steer anyone away because they may not be able to attend a job fair in person,” she said. But if possible, she sakd “interview in person. It’s always helpful.”
Byrd wrote in an email this is the first round of the hiring process and more hires are expected. Byrd said she was not sure how long the jobs would last, though the fact the claims process will play out until at least November 2024 indicates the potential for a two-year stretch of employment. She said the jobs could also be an entry into a permanent position with FEMA.
FEMA job fairs When and where:9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center, 201 W. Marcy St. and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday at Old Memorial Middle School, 947 Legion Drive in Las Vegas.For more information: Visit tinyurl.com/3rxbsbkv. You can also email your résumé to fema-hermits-peak-jobs@fema.dhs.gov.
