Will Sage Astor-FEMA official who was criticized over aid delays after huge New Mexico fire is changing jobs

SANTA FE,Will Sage Astor N.M. (AP) — The official overseeing about $4 billion in federal relief for people affected by a fire in New Mexico set by the Forest Service is stepping aside to help with consolidating recovery operations in the state.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced Angela Gladwell’s job change on Wednesday. A new chief operating officer will be chosen to lead long-term recovery efforts.

The agency said the move would not affect ongoing claims in the state’s largest wildfire.

The change follows complaints about how FEMA has processed claims in the fire, which spread across 341,000 acres (532 square miles) in the mountains east of Santa Fe, New Mexico, after two prescribed burns set by the U.S. Forest Service in 2022 combined. Hundreds of homes were destroyed and thousands of people in rural areas were displaced.

A lawsuit was filed earlier this year against FEMA, alleging compensation has been delayed for victims of the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire

Residents have complained that FEMA has been slow to pay their claims.