Two years after Xcel Energy admitted its operations might have started a deadly wildfire that burned more than 1 million acres in the Texas Panhandle and creeped into Western Oklahoma, the utility took recent steps to notify Texas authorities of its plans for more wildfire mitigation.
The utility said Southwestern Public Service Company, one of its subsidiaries, filed a Wildfire Mitigation Plan with the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT).
“Wildfire mitigation work is not new to our region, but as the risk evolves, we are strategically partnering with our communities to address the issue,” said Brad Baldridge, interim president, Xcel Energy – Texas. “Our purpose is straightforward: Reduce wildfire risk, protect our communities and provide the safe, reliable service our customers depend on every day.”
Xcel offers electric services in the Texas Panhandle but none in Oklahoma.
The Amarillo Globe reported the Wildfire Mitigation Plan provides a framework for assessing wildfire risk and prioritizing mitigation activities, and it builds on Xcel Energy’s existing safety, reliability and resiliency protocols as conditions, technology and industry practices evolve, the company said. It also supports greater visibility into wildfire risk through tools and practices that improve awareness of weather conditions, equipment performance and potential risks.
Proposed plan components include, according to the Amarillo Globe report:
- Weather stations that track localized conditions contributing to wildfire risk
- AI-enabled wildfire detection cameras that help identify and verify potential fire activity
- Drone-based inspections and field technologies that improve equipment visibility and system performance
- Meteorology, fire science and operational expertise to help evaluate conditions and guide response efforts during elevated wildfire conditions
- Increased inspections, equipment repairs and vegetation management in elevated wildfire risk areas
- Distribution modernization, including device upgrades that enable Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings (EPSS) and improve system operation during elevated wildfire conditions
- Transmission and distribution upgrades, including line rebuilds, conductor replacements, pole replacements, equipment upgrades and targeted undergrounding
- Fault indicators that help identify fault locations and support faster response
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The plan awaits approval from the PUCT, with a decision anticipated within 180 days of filing a sufficient application.
The massive fire, believed to have been caused by power lines that belonged to Xcel Energy, started in Hemphill County, where the city of Canadian, Texas is the County seat. Canadian is just across the border from western Oklahoma. The resulting Smokehouse Creek Fire — the biggest in state history, burned well over 1 million acres. Three people were killed in the blaze, and an estimated 500 structures were destroyed.
The Smokehouse Creek Fire also spread into Oklahoma and as Oklahoma State University later reported, “On February 26, 27 and 28, 2024, high winds and low humidity created ideal conditions for wildfires that spread rapidly across the Texas Panhandle and into western Oklahoma. The same weather conditions led to smaller fires across the state. Within this 3-day period, 16 fires of varying sizes were combated across the state, affecting a total of 170,271 acres (reported as of March 6)[1]. The largest fire in the two-state area was the Smokehouse Creek Fire, which claimed an estimated 1,059,570 acres in Texas and Oklahoma. The Smokehouse Creek Fire is the largest recorded fire in Texas history. Of that total, the Smokehouse Creek Fire burned an estimated 31,596 acres in Roger Mills and Ellis counties in Oklahoma. However, on the same day, the Catesby Fire burned an estimated 90,699 acres in Ellis County and the Slapout Fire burned an estimated 26,048 acres in Beaver County. Total damages from western county fires were estimated to be $32.9 million.”
The Texas Attorney General sued the Xcel subsidiary later in 2025 blaming it for more than $1 billion in economic damages to the state. Attorney General Ken Paxton said the wildfire was “entirely preventable.”
“Xcel’s blatant negligence killed three Texans and caused unfathomable destruction in the Texas Panhandle,” Paxton said in a statement. “The company made false representations about its safety commitments and ignored warnings that its aging infrastructure needed immediate repair and to be updated. This created a substantial wildfire risk, which Xcel did nothing about. There must be accountability for the death and devastation the company caused.”
