Xcel Energy says its equipment may have ignited massive Texas panhandle wildfires

On Thursday, Xcel Energy said that a spark in its equipment appeared to have ignited the massive wildfires that wreaked havoc on the Texas Panhandle, destroying homes and killing thousands of livestock.

"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 a statement, per the Associated Press.

Upon completion of its investigation, the Texas A&M Forest Service found that the power lines caused the Smokehouse Creek Fire although the agency did not provide further details as to how the power lines ignited the historic blaze.

In addition to encroaching on neighboring Oklahoma, the fire scorched almost 1,700 square miles and spread to the nearby Windy Deuce fire, which has burned around 225 square miles, according to the outlet.

The massive wildfires resulted in at least two women being killed and the destruction of 500 structures, in addition to the death of thousands of livestock.

In a Thursday news release, Xcel Energy said while its equipment appeared to have ignited the Smokehouse Creek fire, the company disputed negligence claims in relation to its operations. The energy company also said that they did not believe their equipment caused the ignition of the Windy Deuce fire, per AP.

According to a complaint filed in Hemphill County last week, a Stinnett homeowner accused Xcel Energy and two other companies of causing the Smokehouse Creek fire, claiming that their negligence resulted in a wooden pole to break and shatter off at its base, which is how the fire began.