Xcel Energy acknowledges role in Texas’ Smokehouse Creek wildfire

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Xcel Energy on Thursday acknowledged its involvement in the Smokehouse Creek fire, which started last week and quickly became the largest wildfire in state history, burning more than 1 million acres.

“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 company said in a statement Thursday.

Xcel said it has been cooperating with investigations into the wildfires and conducting its own review of the incident since it started. However, the company disputed claims in the same statement that the company acted negligently in maintaining and operating its infrastructure.

“However, we encourage people who had property destroyed by or livestock lost in the Smokehouse Creek fire to submit a claim to Xcel Energy through our claims process,” the statement says.

Xcel also mentioned the Windy Deuce fire, the second large fire threatening the Panhandle that has burned more than 142,000 acres. Xcel said the company does not believe its facilities caused that fire and is not aware of any allegations.

Texas A&M Forest Service officials said they have concluded their investigation and found that power lines ignited both the Smokehouse Creek and the Windy Deuce fires.

Last week, Xcel Energy revealed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that attorneys asked the company to preserve a fallen utility pole near where the fire may have started.

In the SEC filing, Xcel Energy said that “investigations into origin, cause, and damage of the wildland fires burning in or near the service territory of SPS, including the Smokehouse Creek Fire, are underway.” The company also said it is working with emergency responders to assist those impacted by the fires.

A lawsuit filed last week by homeowners accused the power company of neglecting to maintain power lines.

Homeowner Melanie McQuiddy filed the initial lawsuit against the company in Hemphill County on Friday, claiming that a splintered pole ignited the fire when it fell. On Saturday, Salem Abraham, who owns land in Canadian, told The Texas Tribune he plans to file a suit this month against Xcel and Osmose Utility Services, a Georgia-based company that inspects Xcel's equipment, over the pole for damages to his ranch and his brother’s land.

Abraham’s lawyer Kevin Isern, of the Amarillo law firm Lovell, Isern & Farabough, told the Tribune they are thankful Xcel is acknowledging “what we already know is true.”

“The issue now becomes, did the fire start from a lack of their oversight, or lack of oversight of one of their subcontractors?" Isern asked.

Isern said they are preparing to file four lawsuits Thursday, and possibly more next week. Isern said he would like to see lawmakers pass legislation to make companies more responsible for their equipment in areas that are particularly vulnerable to fire.

"There needs to be more oversight of electric, oil and gas companies that provide this type of service," Isern said. "We live in a tinderbox ready to go up at any time, and they know it."

Mike Adams, CEO of Osmose Utility Service, said in a statement they are closely following reports from the fire and taking the allegations seriously.

"We immediately launched an in-depth investigation and we are committed to fully cooperating with any other local investigations into the cause of the fire," Adams said. "We stand by the quality and accuracy of our utility pole inspections."

Xcel Energy’s subsidiary Southwestern Public Service Company serves the area where the fire is burning, according to the SEC filing. The location is outside of the jurisdiction of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates the power grid that provides electricity for most of the state.

According to Xcel’s statement, 47 homes in Hemphill County and up to 17 homes in Roberts County were destroyed by the fire.

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