Texas Panhandle wildfires: Lawmakers evaluate what went wrong
TEXAS - State lawmakers evaluated what went wrong during the February wildfires in the Texas Panhandle. The fire was the largest in state history and had devastating impacts that are still being felt.
The goal of the house committee hearing held on Tuesday, Sept. 17, was to determine what went wrong and how to prevent something like it from happening again.
The historic wildfires burned across more than 1.2 million acres, killing two people and thousands of livestock. Not to mention, the fire destroyed hundreds of properties and farmers' livelihoods.
"The big fire started when a power pole blew over, that started the Smokehouse Creek Fire. The other three fires were started in that old oil field that's over 100 years old," a speaker said.
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During the waiting time for the active pole to be maintained, windy conditions led to the start of the main fire.
"Two of the oil field fires started with frayed lines running through shrubbery and trees. One of them started had a bare wire wrapped around a metal skid. So when you get an unseasonably 90-degree day and a 60-mile-an-hour wind, you get a spark," a speaker said.
"We don't have a wind problem in the panhandle. We have an aging infrastructure problem," a speaker said.
The executive director of the Public Utility Commission brought up the need to improve pole standards and inspections.
"You don't have to be an electrician to say there's a bare extension cord wrapped around a metal skid, that is a safety hazard. When you write that operator up, you need to share that information with the PUC because nobody's inspected no man's land," a speaker said.
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The issue of who is responsible for maintenance came into question.
"The landowners are the ones who know where the danger is, and they have been reaching out to significantly more than they were prior to the Panhandle fires, and we're able to get out there and get an inspector and inspect it," a speaker said.
Once someone determines that there is a problem, it is a difficult process to get the ability to turn off the power, so it does not turn into a fire.
"I did not realize that the power company did not have the authority to go to the property, you know, to inspect the utility company because who knows who strung that wire. That's something we really need to get on and fix quickly," a speaker said.
In the discussion, other areas to improve on included communication efforts.
"The whole thing is exacerbated because of lack of communication from top to bottom. If you read that report, that's what you find," a speaker said.
Officials said it took three days before Texas could get an aircraft on-site.
"I believe somebody in the state government needs authority and funding to, on day one of that authority, contract aircraft firefighting when we need them in this state so that we have an exclusive use contract for them," a speaker said.
The committee also heard testimony about how economic challenges impact insurance premiums and barriers to broadband deployment in rural areas.