Texas sues utility company to recover damages from historic wildfire sparked by downed power lines
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas has filed a lawsuit against the utility company. falling power lines sparked the largest wildfire in state history; a deadly fire destroyed houses and animals and miles of land were charred, causing more than $1 billion in damage.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday by State Attorney General Ken Paxton, accuses Southwestern Public Service Company, which does business as Xcel Energy in Texas, of negligence in maintaining aging utility poles. It is aimed to compensate for the economic damages suffered by the state and to prevent the company from passing these costs on to customers.
The Smokehouse Creek fire killed three people in 2024 and burned more than 1,500 square miles (3,885 square kilometers) in Texas before spreading into neighboring Oklahoma. Texas A&M Forest Service investigators determined the fire started when a rotten power pole broke and fell, and Xcel power lines fell on dry grass.
The Minnesota-based company acknowledged that its equipment appeared to have triggered the fire. But the lawsuit alleges the company neglected to replace aging utility poles in the windy Panhandle, some of which are nearly 100 years old and more than double their typical 40-year lifespan.
“Xcel’s blatant negligence killed three Texans and caused unimaginable devastation across the Texas Panhandle,” Paxton said. “The company made false statements about its security commitments and ignored warnings that its aging infrastructure needed to be urgently repaired and updated.”
Fire-related deaths included a woman caught in the flames after getting out of her truck and another woman whose remains were found in her burned home. A fire chief in one of the hardest-hit towns died while fighting a fire at his home.
The company disputed Paxton’s claims of negligence and stated that he had already accepted responsibility for the equipment failure. Xcel said it has already paid more than $361 million to resolve 212 of 254 claims.
“When the attorney general’s office reached out to us earlier this year to request information, we worked in good faith with them to find a mutual solution,” Xcel said in a statement. “Instead, they chose to file a lawsuit. We will review this lawsuit and vigorously defend ourselves against these allegations.”
