'Damage, damage, damage': Mora County reeling after another summer of flooding

HOLMAN — Using his gloved hands to draw in the dirt, T.J. Lujan explained how the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire ripped through 500 acres of his family’s ranch in the Mora Valley back in 2022.

He recalled how he and a friend fought the raging wildfire bearing down on a family home built into the hillside. Lujan, a lifelong resident of this idyllic region with its rolling hills, now grapples with flash flooding that has worsened and become more frequent since the burn scars emerged raw and charred in the mountains. The sense of anxiety he experiences is commonplace in the valley these days.

“You wake up and you never know: There may be water under your house. It’s an anxiety feeling,” said Lujan, who lives near the steam La Canada de los Maes along Tramperos Road, just north of the communi