Power lines ignited Texas blaze
Power lines ignited massive wildfires across the Texas Panhandle that killed at least two people, destroyed homes and livestock, and left a charred landscape, officials said Thursday, including the largest blaze in state history.
The Texas A&M Forest Service said its investigators concluded power lines ignited both the historic Smokehouse Creek Fire, which has burned nearly 1,700 square miles and spilled into neighboring Oklahoma, and the nearby Windy Deuce Fire, which has burned about 225 square miles. The statement did not elaborate on what led to the power lines igniting the blazes.
Utility provider Xcel Energy said its equipment appeared to have sparked the Smokehouse Creek Fire. The Minnesota-based company said in the news releas it did not believe its equipment caused the ignition of the Windy Deuce Fire, nor was it aware of any allegations it had. A company spokesman said in an email there are power lines owned and operated by various companies in that area.
The wildfires ignited last week in the windswept rural area prompted evacuations in a handful of small communities, destroyed as many as 500 structures and killed thousands of cattle.
When the blazes began Feb. 26, winds in the area were reaching upwards of 60 miles per hour. Those strong winds, along with dry grass and temperatures reaching into the 70s and 80s fed the flames.
Containment levels have been increasing. The Smokehouse Creek Fire was 74% contained Thursday, while the Windy Deuce Fire was 89%. The Forest Service warned high winds were expected to be moving across the dry landscape, increasing fire danger.
Downed power lines and other utility equipment have led to other major wildfires, including the deadly blaze in Maui last year and a massive California wildfire in 2019.
A lawsuit filed last week in Hemphill County alleged a downed power line near the town of Stinnett on Feb. 26 sparked the Smokehouse Creek Fire.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of a Stinnett homeowner against Xcel Energy, alleged the blaze started “when a wooden pole defendants failed to properly inspect, maintain and replace, splintered and snapped off at its base.”
In its Thursday news release, Xcel Energy disputed claims of negligence in maintaining and operating infrastructure.
In a statement following Xcel Energy’s news release, Mikal Watts, the attorney who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the homeowner, said an inspection Wednesday of the downed utility pole found “a heavily degraded wooden pole that should have been removed from service long ago.”
He said the company that conducts pole inspections for Xcel Energy found the pole’s condition to be so degraded it put a red tag on it to signify it wasn’t safe to be climbed and needed to be replaced immediately.