Nearly a year after more than a million acres were burned in a massive Texas Panhandle fire that swept into western Oklahoma, eleven cities in the Panhandle have formed a coalition against Xcel Energy, the company accused of causing the February 2024 fire.
Called the “Lonestar Eleven,” the coalition was formed because of what the cities felt were years of negligent operations by the Minnesota-based electrical supplier. They blamed Xcel for causing the Smokehouse Creek Fire in 2024 which turned into the largest wildfire in Texas history, according to an announcement by the coalition.
The Lonestar Eleven coalition was formed in response to Xcel’s ongoing negligence nearly two years after the devastating February 2024 Smokehouse Creek Fire – the largest wildfire in Texas history. Xcel accepted responsibility after one of its utility poles fell over and sparked the fire that claimed the lives of Texans and destroyed homes, livestock, ranchland, and damaged local economies. Despite Xcel’s promise of accelerated maintenance following the wildfire, local officials say aging and unsafe poles remain in service today, leaving communities vulnerable.
The Lonestar Eleven includes the cities of Borger, Canadian, Fritch, Higgins, Miami, McLean, Pampa, Perryton, Skellytown, Stinnett and Wheeler. Over the past several months, each of these cities have voted to join together to seek safety for their residents amid continued negligence in utility maintenance by Xcel.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton recently filed a lawsuit against Xcel, citing years of ignored warnings about failing infrastructure and false assurances about safety. The State is seeking economic damages, civil penalties, and court-ordered corrective action to prevent another utility-caused wildfire. General Paxton is also seeking a court order prohibiting Xcel from passing the costs of the Smokehouse fire settlements off to Texas ratepayers. This will ensure Xcel pays for the costs of the fire it started, rather than allowing the company to force ratepayer victims to pay for the costs of Xcel’s neglect, and broken promises of improved maintenance.
“Our communities applaud Attorney General Ken Paxton for taking action to hold Xcel accountable for its failures to keep Panhandle communities safe. Like the Panhandle ranchers and families that witnessed their lives and livelihoods destroyed before their eyes, Attorney General Paxton recognizes that we simply cannot afford any more broken poles and broken promises,” said Salem Abraham, a Canadian resident and advisor to the Lonestar Eleven coalition. “Attorney General Paxton’s lawsuit echoes our belief that Xcel has violated not only the trust of its customers, but also the law. By representing the State, including the Public Utility Commission of Texas, Attorney General Paxton understands that ratepayers shouldn’t have to cover all of those costs.”
“Our Panhandle communities continue to focus on safety,” continued Abraham. “They’ve come together to work with the Attorney General and Xcel to find a solution that ensures public safety, increases reliability, and provides appropriate oversite to help put an end to utility-caused wildfires while protecting rate payers. We must make sure public and private utilities live up to their commitments to keep our communities safe, including repairing aging, decrepit infrastructure to ensure we never see a disaster like the Smokehouse Creek Fire again. In the coming weeks, the Lonestar Eleven cities hope to engage in productive discussions with Xcel to improve the safety of our communities.”
State leaders, residents, businesses, landowners, and all Xcel customers in the region are encouraged to support the coalition’s efforts to strengthen utility oversight and implement reforms necessary to prevent future utility-caused wildfires in the Texas Panhandle.