Power lines ignited massive wildfires across the Texas Panhandle that killed at least two people, destroyed homes and livestock, and left a charred landscape, officials said Thursday, including the largest blaze in state history. The Texas A&M Forest Service said its investigators concluded that power lines ignited both the historic Smokehouse Creek fire, which has burned nearly 1,700 square miles (4,400 square kilometers) and spilled into neighboring Oklahoma, and the nearby Windy Deuce fire, which has burned about 225 square miles (582 square kilometers). The statement did not elaborate on what led to the power lines igniting the blazes.
Electric utility Xcel Energy said on Thursday its facilities likely started the Smokehouse Creek fire, which has destroyed dozens of homes and charred sprawling cattle ranches in the largest wildfire in recorded Texas history. "Based on currently available information, Xcel Energy acknowledges that its facilities appear to have been involved in an ignition of the Smokehouse Creek fire," Xcel Energy wrote in a statement. The Minneapolis-based utility, which provides power and natural gas to parts of Texas and seven other U.S. states, disputed "claims that it acted negligently in maintaining and operating its infrastructure."
MINNEAPOLIS, March 07, 2024--Xcel Energy (XEL) issued the following statement regarding the wildfires in the Texas Panhandle: