CANADIAN, Texas — Utility company Xcel Energy said Thursday that its facilities played a role in igniting a massive wildfire in the Texas Panhandle that grew into the largest fire in the state’s history.
Texas officials have said they are still investigating the cause of the fire that burned nearly 1,500 square miles (4,400 square kilometers) and destroyed hundreds of buildings. The Minnesota-based company said in a statement that it disputes claims that it “acted negligently” in maintaining and operating the infrastructure.
“Based on currently available information, Xcel Energy acknowledges that its facilities appear to have been involved in igniting the Smokehouse Creek fire,” the company said in a statement.
Electric utilities have taken responsibility for wildfires in the US, including downed power lines that sparked a blaze in Maui last year. Transmission lines also caused a massive wildfire in California in 2019.
The Texas fire was part of a group of fires that broke out in the rural Panhandle last week, prompting evacuation orders in a handful of small communities.
Officials said as many as 500 structures may have been destroyed in the fires, including the Smokehouse Creek fire, the largest in Texas history. The wildfire, which also reached neighboring Oklahoma, was about 44% contained as of Wednesday.
A lawsuit filed Friday in Hemphill County alleged that a broken power line near the town of Stinnett caused the Feb. 26 fire. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Stinnett homeowner Melanie McQuiddy against Xcel Energy Services Inc. and two other utility companies, alleged that the fire started “when the defendants failed to properly inspect, maintain and replace a wooden pole, which splintered and broke off at the base.”