Utility provider says massive Texas wildfire may have started at its facilities

A utility provider said Thursday that the largest wildfire in Texas history may have started at its facilities.

Xcel Energy said its facilities appeared to have been involved in the starting of the Smokehouse Creek fire, which has burned through more than 1 million acres of land in the Texas Panhandle. 

Texas officials have said as many as 500 structures may have been destroyed in a string of wildfires, including the Smokehouse Creek fire, that ignited last month.

“Xcel Energy has been cooperating with the investigations into the wildfires and has been conducting its own review. 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 utility provider said in an update.

Other electric utilities have also claimed responsibility for wildfires in recent months, including the deadly wildfires that ripped through the Hawaiian island of Maui last year.

“Xcel Energy disputes claims that it 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 said.

“We will review and respond to any such claims in an expeditious manner, with a priority on claims from any person that lost their home in the Smokehouse Creek fire,” it added.

The Smokehouse Creek fire in Hutchinson County is about 44 percent contained, Texas A&M Forest Service said Wednesday. Texas officials said they are still investigating the cause of the fire, The Associated Press noted.

The Associated Press contributed.