New Mexico law signed to help wildfire, flooding recovery

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has signed a law to use zero-interest loans to help local governments repair or replace public infrastructure damaged by wildfires or subsequent flooding. The law follows last year’s historic wildfire that was sparked by a prescribed burn by the U.S. government. It grew to blacken more than 530 square miles of mountainsides and valleys. Hundreds of homes were lost. Experts warn the environmental harms will endure for decades. Congress and President Joe Biden have approved nearly $4 billion in recovery funds. The new law sets aside another $100 million in state money.