Houston, Texas –

A power company said Thursday that its equipment may have started the largest wildfire in Texas history.

Xcel Energy – the parent company of Southwest Public Service Co., which provides power to parts of the state – said it was working with officials to investigate the cause of the fire, which scorched more than 400,000 hectares (988,421 acres).

“Based on the information currently available, Xcel Energy acknowledges that its facilities appear to have been involved in igniting the Smokehouse Creek Fire,” the company said.

Hundreds of homes are believed to have been destroyed in the fire, and at least two people and more than 3,000 farm animals are known to have died.

Xcel faces at least one lawsuit, and the company denies that it improperly maintains its equipment.

“However, we encourage people whose property was destroyed or livestock lost as a result of the Smokehouse Creek Fire to submit a claim to Xcel Energy through our claims process,” the statement said.

Washington post The company reportedly acknowledged this after seeing evidence that the Texas power grid was under stress in the hours leading up to the high-wind fires on February 26.

The newspaper said Whisker Labs, a company that monitors the power grid, had recorded 50 faults in the system.

These are often recorded when power lines fall or come into contact with trees, events that often create sparks that can start fires in dry countryside.

It’s not uncommon for U.S. power companies to be blamed for devastating wildfires.

Hawaii’s Maui County took legal action against the island’s electricity supplier last year following a deadly fire in the historic town of Lahaina.

Video taken before the blaze swept through the town, killing 100 people, apparently showed fallen power lines igniting vegetation.

In California, a fire burned nearly 1 million acres in Dixie in 2021 after a power line owned by Pacific Gas and Electric came into contact with a tree.

A year ago, the company pleaded guilty to more than 80 counts of involuntary manslaughter in the horrific Camp Fire.