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Following the largest wildfire in Texas history, Xcel Energy, which services many areas of the Texas Panhandle, is now facing multiple lawsuits for its alleged negligence prior to the lawsuits filed in relation to the Smokehouse Creek Fire. Xcel Energy was already facing more than 280 lawsuits from the 2021 Marshall fire in Colorado, which caused over $2 billion in property damage in the area.
Xcel Energy had sent out a statement following the outbreak of the Smokehouse Creek fire, which burned over a million acres of land and led to the death of two people, being possibly caused by one of its utility poles.
“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 statement read. In the statement, Xcel expressed that they were cooperating with investigations and disputed claims that it acted negligently in maintaining its infrastructure but encouraged people who had property or livestock destroyed to utilize its claim process.
A decayed wooden power pole that broke and sparked on the nearby dry grass was noted as a claimed cause for the fire. It was alleged that Xcel near Stinnett, Texas, had marked it unsafe.
The Texas A&M Forest Service said its investigators determined that the fires were caused by power lines during critical fire danger weather, but the statement did not elaborate on what led to the power lines igniting the blazes, according to the Associated Press.
The first lawsuit in connection to the Smokehouse Creek fire in Hemphill County was filed by Melanie Lee McQuiddy on March 1, alleging that Xcel failed to thoroughly inspect, maintain, and replace a splintered pole that snapped off its base. The plaintiff seeks monetary damages for over $1 million. Also named in the lawsuit were Southwestern Public Service Company and Osmose Utility Services. Osmose was named because both power companies were engaged to inspect and report on its power poles.
The lawsuit alleges that this level of wildfire would not have occurred under normal circumstances and due diligence of maintenance.
Another lawsuit filed by Chisty and Tracy Peterson seeks over $1 million in damages due to damages to their property in Hutchinson County. The lawsuit also alleges that Xcel did not properly maintain its infrastructure and should have designed its powerlines to be insulated and covered, making them less likely to ignite with local vegetation. Instead, it used above-ground wooden poles that weakened over time. The lawsuit further alleges that Xcel should have cleared vegetation management programs to ensure safe power delivery to its customers.
An inability to deenergize powerlines effectively was also cited as a significant reason for the rapid spread of the fire as well as multiple other fires that happened under their control. With its recent history of fires alleged to have been caused due to Xcel's inability to respond to needed upgrades, the plaintiffs argue that Xcel ignored available technologies that could have reduced fire risks to residents in the Texas Panhandle and beyond.
In addition to these lawsuits, the family of Joyce Blankenship, who died in the recent wildfire, filed a wrongful death suit in Hutchinson County on March 20. The lawsuit alleges that Xcel’s lack of maintaining its infrastructure resulted in the rapidly spreading fire, which led to the death of Blankenship at her home near Stinnett. Blankenship, 83, was one of two people that died in the recent wildfires in the area. Cindy Owen, 44, died from burns sustained when her vehicle was surrounded by fires on her way to Amarillo on Highway 136.
"Tragically, the fires spread so rapidly that Ms. Blankenship was unable to escape and burned alive when the flames engulfed her home," according to the lawsuit filed by Paul Blankenship, the son of Joyce.
Two separate lawsuits have been filed by the father and wife of 44-year-old Cindy Owen in connection with the Panhandle wildfires. Lauren Sanchez, Owen's wife, is suing Xcel for over $1 million in damages. Troy Owen, Cindy's father, is suing Southwestern Public Service Company, alleging that one of its vehicles crashed into a power pole, starting the fire that claimed his daughter.
More than a dozen lawsuits have now been filed in relation to the Texas Panhandle wildfires, and a legal firm was holding town halls over the weekend in Fritch and Stinnett to help with questions on insurance and current litigation.
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