Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against Southwestern Public Service Company, which operates in Texas as Xcel Energy, over allegations that the company's negligence led to the Smokehouse Creek Fire in 2024, a blaze described as the largest wildfire in recorded Texas history. Citing failure to maintain aging infrastructure and a disregard for safety, Paxton's legal action aims to hold Xcel accountable for the profound loss and damage caused to the Texas Panhandle.
"Xcel’s blatant negligence killed three Texans and caused unfathomable destruction in the Texas Panhandle," Paxton was quoted as saying in an announcement of the lawsuit. According to the Attorney General's office, the company made false claims about its safety measures and ignored indications that its infrastructure, with utility poles nearly 100 years old, required urgent upgrades. The neglect is said to have paved the way for the devastating fire that burned over a million acres.
In the aftermath of the disaster, an August investigation was launched by the Attorney General's office to probe into the cause of the fire. Xcel has since admitted that its utility pole was the inception of the wildfire. The extensive damage includes over 15,000 head of cattle lost, along with widespread impacts on local wildlife and habitats, translating into more than $1 billion in economic losses for agricultural, ranching, and community sectors.
In response to the devastation that Paxton insists "The Smokehouse Creek Fire was entirely preventable," the lawsuit not only seeks recovery of economic damages and civil penalties for contraventions of Texas law but also an injunction against Xcel to compel the company to execute corrective measures. The goal is to prevent such a tragedy from happening in the future, as the Attorney General's office noted, "There must be accountability for the death and devastation the company caused."
