A damaged Xcel pole owned sparked the Smokehouse Creek fire, the largest in state history.
Panhandle Wildfires
The largest wildfire Texas’ history burned more than 1,500 square miles of rangeland in the Panhandle northeast of Amarillo in February and March 2024. Wildfires have become more frequent and severe in the Western United States because of warmer and drier conditions, factors that worsen because of climate change.
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Panhandle Wildfires
Why a Panhandle businessman wants to take over the region’s electric utility
Salem Abraham claims Minnesota-based Xcel Energy has not lived up to its promise of protecting the region from wildfires. The company vehemently disagrees.
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Panhandle Wildfires
Texas AG Ken Paxton seeks damages from energy company linked to Texas’ largest wildfire
The lawsuit alleges Minnesota-based Xcel Energy failed to maintain utility poles that started the 2024 Panhandle fire that killed three people and thousands of livestock.
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Texas Legislature 2025
Texas will share equipment database with local fire departments to help beat wildfires
The legislation, which won unanimous approval in both chambers, was written following the state’s historic Panhandle wildfires last year.
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Panhandle Wildfires
Legislation creating statewide emergency communication system advances in Texas House
The legislation was written after the state’s largest wildfire scorched more than 1 million acres in the Panhandle last year.
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Texas Legislature 2025
Bills introduced a year after state’s largest blaze seek to limit wildfires
Among the proposals is a bill that would force more inspections of power lines, which a committee concluded ignited a blaze that burned more than 1 million acres last year.
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Panhandle Wildfires
A year after Texas’ largest wildfire, Panhandle residents tugged between hope and anxiety
The Panhandle town of Canadian is determined to move beyond the deadly fire. And yet, they are reminded almost daily another catastrophe is possible.
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Panhandle Wildfires
Unregulated oilfield power lines are suspected of sparking Texas wildfires
No state agency is taking responsibility for making sure the privately built lines that power many oil and gas sites are safe. Such lines have been blamed for sparking two recent Panhandle fires.
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Panhandle Wildfires
Three months after the Texas’ largest wildfire, Panhandle residents are preparing for the next one
Short of an immediate statewide response, Texans who lost homes and livestock are taking matters into their own hands to better prepare their property for a wildfire.
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Panhandle Wildfires
Ted Cruz and Ronny Jackson push legislation to help ranchers who lost livestock in Panhandle wildfires
The Republican senator and congressman introduced a bill that would expand a federal aid program to pay ranchers when pregnant cattle are killed in disasters.