Officials: Power lines ignited largest wildfire in Texas history
Power lines ignited massive wildfires across the Texas Panhandle that destroyed homes and killed thousands of livestock, officials said Thursday, including the largest blaze in state history that the utility provider Xcel Energy said its equipment appeared to have sparked.
The Texas A&M Forest Service said its investigators have concluded that power lines ignited both the historic Smokehouse Creek fire, 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.
“Based on currently available information, Xcel Energy acknowledges that its facilities appear to have been involved in an ignition of the Smokehouse Creek fire,” the utility provider stated.
The wildfires that ignited last week in the windswept rural area prompted evacuations in a handful of small communities, destroyed as many as 500 structures and killed at least two people.
Containment levels have been increasing — the Smokehouse Creek fire was 74% contained Thursday while the Windy Deuce fire was 89%. But the Forest Service warned that 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 that 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 and two other utilities, alleged the blaze started “when a wooden pole defendants failed to properly inspect, maintain and replace, splintered and snapped off at its base.”
While Xcel Energy said that its equipment appeared to have played a role in igniting the Smokehouse Creek fire, it disputed claims of negligence in maintaining and operating infrastructure.