Xcel Energy has admitted that its equipment was likely responsible for starting the worst fire in Texas history that burned more than a million acres of land and killed 7,000 cattle.
The Smokehouse Creek Fire killed two residents, destroyed villages and displaced hundreds after igniting last Monday.
The company is currently being sued by a local property owner who alleged that a splintered utility pole owned by the company fell and caused the catastrophic fire.
“Based on the information currently available, Xcel Energy recognizes that its facilities appear to have been involved in the start of the Smokehouse Creek Fire,” the company said in a statement Thursday.
Although the energy company disputes allegations that it acted negligently in the maintenance and operation of its infrastructure, it has told those who lost property, including livestock, in the devastation to submit claims to the company through a specific process.
Xcel Energy has admitted that its equipment was likely responsible for starting the worst fire in Texas history.
The Smokehouse Creek Fire has devastated more than a million acres of land, killed two residents and burned dozens of cattle since it caught fire last Monday.
Hundreds of residents have been displaced and no official cause of the fire has yet been given.
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller told CBS that the 7,000 head of cattle that died in the fire may not represent the final death toll, which could end up being around 10,000.
The 7,000 also does not include cattle that will have to be euthanized because of their injuries, Miller said Thursday.
“Their hooves and udders have been burned on the inside. They can’t breastfeed their babies,” she explained.
He added: “Actually, we will end up having to slaughter a lot of livestock just because they won’t be able to survive, even though they survived.”
Xcel shares have fallen 13 percent since the lawsuit became public last week, losing more than $5 billion in market value.
“Xcel Energy, through our subsidiary Southwestern Public Service Company (SPS), has operated in the Texas Panhandle for more than 100 years,” CEO Bob Frenzel said Thursday.
‘The people of this region are our friends, neighbors and family. “We are deeply saddened by the losses suffered in this community and are committed to supporting its renewal and recovery.”
The Minnesota-based utility serves nearly four million customers in eight states and is worth approximately $28 billion.
Melanie McQuiddy, a resident of the fire-ravaged Canadian city, is suing Xcel Energy to recover damages to real property, arguing that a pole owned by the company was not properly maintained, causing it to fall and spark the fire.
Local Canadian Melanie McQuiddy (right) is suing Xcel Energy for recovery of damages to real property.
The fire consumed more than a million acres of land, leaving a trail of devastation.
Hundreds of properties destroyed in the Smokehouse Creek fire
In Fritch, where up to 50 homes were destroyed, photos show a dead calf and burned trees from the snow-covered Smokehouse Creek Fire on Thursday.
Cindy Owen, (right) of Amarillo, died when she tried to escape from her truck after it was surrounded by flames outside Pampa on Thursday.
Joyce Blankenship, 83, was also found dead as a result of the fires last week.
McQuiddy sued Southwestern Public Service Company, a subsidiary of Xcel Energy, and Osmose Utilities Services, a Georgia-based contractor that inspects wooden utility poles, late Friday.
The companies “failed to properly inspect, maintain, and replace” the pole that cracked and broke at its base, the lawsuit alleges.
“As a result of the impact, electrical cables fell to the ground, causing a fire that quickly spread until it became an uncontrollable conflagration,” he says.
Osmose Utilities Services examined Southwestern Public Service’s poles and was irresponsible in inspecting and reporting the “rotten pole that caused the fire,” according to the lawsuit.
The Texas A&M Forest Service is officially investigating the fire, but the cause has not yet been determined.
“Xcel will pay for every dollar their wildfire caused,” attorney Mikal Watts who represents McQuiddy told News 4.
Xcel will also face another lawsuit from billionaire trader Salem Abraham for damages to his 3,500-acre ranch.
About 95 percent of the fences and pastures in the Land of Abraham, which stretches along five miles of the Canadian River, were burned in the fire, along with wildlife and thousands of trees.
Abraham told the Texas Tribune that he intends to sue Xcel and Osmose Utility Services later this month for damages over the Xcel Energy pole.
“I’m sick and tired of this,” Abraham said. “This is not my first, second, third, fourth or fifth firefighting rodeo, and it is not my first with these utility companies.”
So far two residents have died as a result of the fire.
Cindy Owen of Amarillo died when she tried to escape from her truck after it was surrounded by flames outside Pampa on Thursday.
Joyce Blankenship, 83, was also announced dead last week.
His body was found in Stinnett, Hutchinson County Public Engagement Coordinator Deidra Thomas said in a statement Wednesday.