Insurance companies sue energy corporation after it was blamed for helping start Colorado wildfire

By COLLEEN SLEVIN
Associated Press

Dozens of insurance companies are suing Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy to recoup money paid out to homes and businesses lost in Colorado’s most destructive wildfire in 2021. The lawsuit was filed last week, after investigators announced that a sparking power line owned by Xcel was one of the causes of the fire. Another cause was a smoldering scrap wood fire that reignited. Together, the massive blaze destroyed nearly 1,000 homes and left two people dead. Xcel says it objects to the findings of the investigation and strongly disagrees with any suggestion that its power lines were one of the causes of the fire.