TX Sues Xcel on Smokehouse Creek Fire

LINCOLN, Neb. (DTN) -- Xcel Energy, operated by Southwestern Public Service Company, is to blame for the largest wildfire in the history of the state of Texas in 2024, the state of Texas said in a new lawsuit filed on Tuesday. The state is trying to recover economic and other damages from the fires that caused more than $1 billion in losses, including to farmers, ranchers and local communities in the Texas Panhandle.

The Smokehouse Creek fire that started at the end of February 2024 took the lives of three Texans, destroyed more than 15,000 head of cattle and burned over one million acres, the lawsuit alleges, and was started by the utility company's lack of maintenance of utility poles in the region. Southwestern operates in the region as Xcel Energy.

"Despite notification that its utility poles required replacement due to rot and other safety concerns -- some had not been replaced since their original installation in 1936 -- Xcel failed to take the necessary steps to address these hazards, leading to the loss of life and significant damage to state property and its natural resources," the state said in the lawsuit filed in Hemphill County, Texas, District Court.

"A notable increase of disastrous wildfires, both in Texas and across the country, has been traced to faulty and aging infrastructure and electrical utility equipment that should have been replaced long ago. Xcel's utility poles were inspected on or about January 2024, and Xcel was notified on or about Feb. 9, 2024, of the urgent need to replace its poles due to advanced deterioration. Despite prime wildfire conditions -- including high winds, record temperatures, and low humidity -- Xcel chose to prioritize profits over public safety, leaving the compromised poles in service. As a result, the weakened poles failed, causing the historic and devastating wildfire."

Based on DTN's reporting of the wildfires, satellite imagery at the time showed the loss of houses and buildings burned in Borger, Canadian, Fritch and Miami. Various media showed aerial and ground images of burnt homes and farms.

The largest and most dangerous of the wildfires was the Smokehouse Creek fire, which started in Texas and spread into Oklahoma. The fire started on Feb. 26, 2024, in Hutchinson County, Texas. Eventually, the Smokehouse Creek fire merged with another fire and was in both Texas and Oklahoma. The fire reached 40,000 acres by the morning of Feb. 27. By evening that day, it was 250,000 acres. By the morning of Feb. 28, it was 400,000 acres.

Later that day, the Smokehouse Creek fire grew to 850,000 acres. By Feb. 29, it reached past the one-million-acre mark -- about 1,700 square miles.

The disaster exceeded the 2006 east Amarillo fire that burned about 1,400 square miles and resulted in 13 deaths.

DECAYED UTILITY POLES

According to investigative reports cited in the lawsuit, sometime on Feb. 26, 2024, a decayed utility pole about one mile northwest of Stinnett, Texas, broke at ground level, distribution lines fell and sparked the dry vegetation below, and ignited the Smokehouse Creek fire.

Then, sometime the next day, the lawsuit said, a second utility pole also owned by Xcel broke and fell to the ground southwest of Stinnett, also causing distribution lines to spark dry vegetation below.

"Xcel admitted responsibility for both fires," the lawsuit said.

"On April 4, 2024, when testifying before the Texas House of Representatives committee charged with investigating the fires, Xcel President Adrian Rodriguez stated that Xcel owned, operated, and maintained the utility poles that broke and the distribution lines that ignited the Smokehouse Creek and Reamer fires."

In May 2024, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service estimated the fires caused about $123 million in damage to agriculture, including $68.7 million in damage to farm and ranch infrastructure, $26 million in long-term grazing and short-term feed options and $27 million in cattle losses.

"But one need not speculate about whether Xcel has actual knowledge of the wildfire risk that electrical lines carry," the lawsuit said.

"After the east Amarillo Complex fire, Xcel sued an oil and gas operator alleging that the operator's electrical wire ignited the fire. Not only did Xcel have general knowledge of wildfire risk here, but it also knew of the specific risks contributing to the Smokehouse Creek fire -- yet it did not take appropriate steps to eliminate the risk."

The state of Texas said Xcel had its poles inspected by a third-party contractor in or about January 2024. At the time, the lawsuit alleges, the inspecting contractor identified the pole responsible for the Smokehouse Creek fire, noting that it was decayed and needed replacement.

"In fact, the pole was given a 'priority one replacement designation' and 'tagged to identify its defectiveness and to warn employees and contractors that the pole was not safe to climb.' Xcel was informed of the pole's condition on or about Feb. 9, 2024, nearly three weeks before the pole collapsed."

The lawsuit said Xcel has continued to maintain its utility poles in Texas and has "implemented measures" to improve operations, including pole replacement.

"While these efforts are a start, they do not eliminate the ongoing risk that Xcel's distribution system poses to the state and its people," the lawsuit said.

Read more on DTN:

"Texas Wildfires Cover Over 1 Million Acres," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Todd Neeley can be reached at todd.neeley@dtn.com

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