Smokehouse Creek Fire in Texas is the costliest in state history for agricultural losses

Editor's note: The story has been updated to clarify that the wildfire is the costliest in terms of agricultural losses.

The Smokehouse Creek Fire in the Panhandle — the state's largest wildfire in recorded history — has broken another record: the costliest wildfire in Texas history for agricultural losses.

The fire burned more than 1.2 million acres over the course of three weeks between Feb. 26 and mid-March in Hutchinson County. Four additional fires ignited in bordering counties in the same period, leaving two people dead.

A preliminary analysis from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service unveiled the wildfire's substantial price tag.

How much did the Smokehouse Creek Fire cause in agricultural losses?

In the nation's largest cattle-producing region, AgriLife economists project an initial loss of $123 million in agricultural losses caused by the Smokehouse Creek Fire, making it the costliest on record.

According to a news release from the agency, the losses are separated into three categories:

• $68.7 million: Ranch infrastructure, fences, barns, corrals, well pump motors and windmills, stocks of hay or feed.
• $26 million: Lost long-term grazing in fire damaged pastures and range and short-term emergency feeding.
• $27 million: About 12,000 cattle deaths due to wildfires, and another $1 million in miscellaneous, including disposal costs for deceased animals and forced marketing losses.

“These loss estimates are likely to continue to grow as more details emerge as the wildfire risks remain high this spring,” said David Anderson, AgriLife Extension livestock marketing economist, said in the release.

More:As thousands of cattle die in Panhandle, ranchers across Texas unite to help

How did the Smokehouse Creek Fire begin?

Xcel Energy confirmed March 7 that its infrastructure played a role in igniting the state's largest wildfire on record. Now, the electric company faces lawsuits from more than 100 families and ranchers affected by the wildfires.

Named in the suit are Xcel Energy, its Texas subsidiary Southwestern Public Service Co. and Osmose Utilities Services, the Amarillo Globe-News reported earlier this week. The families are represented by attorney Mikel Watts, who was part of litigation for the 2017 and 2018 California Camp Fire and represents families of 29 residents who died in the Maui wildfires last summer.

“The fire started when a rotted-out utility pole fell in high winds," Watts told the Globe-News. "The pole had been inspected by Osmose in the weeks before the fire. They put a red stamp on the pole, which is a signal not to climb this pole, and it is not stable. It had been scheduled to be replaced, but the company had not gotten around to replacing it."

Watts was not sure of the exact timeline for when the pole had been marked but speculated it had to have been in the preceding seven weeks. He said the exact timeline for the trial would be revealed in the discovery stage. 

More:Attorney for Texas wildfire lawsuit speaks on the impacts for his clients

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