Texas Woman Sues Xcel Energy, Alleges Company is Responsible for Panhandle Wildfires

A woman who lost her home in one of the largest wildfire in U.S. history has filed a lawsuit against Xcel Energy. Melanie McQuiddy, a resident of Canadian, Texas, alleges the Minnesota-based utility company is responsible for the massive Smokehouse Creek Fire that engulfed her home, according to the court documents filed on March 1. The fire has burned over 1 million acres since it began about one mile north of Stinnett, Texas, in Hutchison County on Feb. 26. “Amongst the million-plus acre wake of destruction left by the wildfire in question, Plaintiff’s property was consumed,” lawyers wrote in the lawsuit. Lawyers for Ms. McQuiddy have argued “gross negligence” after a wooden utility pole allegedly “splintered and snapped off its base” during high winds, igniting the wildfire that started in Stinnett and spread to the nearby town of Canadian. The lawsuit claims that the utility pole is owned and operated by Southwestern Public Service Company, a subsidiary of Xcel Energy....