President Joe Biden said the federal government will cover “100 percent” of the recovery costs in response to the largest wildfire in New Mexico’s history, which is also the largest fire in the United States so far this year.
The Calf Canyon Fire and the Hermits Peak Fire were originally “prescribed burns,” conducted as part of the U.S. Forest Service’s forest management measures. The burns escaped containment lines and merged into one and became the largest wildfire in state history in mid-May. It has burned more than 300,000 acres.