Xcel Energy will pay $640M to settle claims from Denver-area wildfire that burned 1,000 structures

DENVER (AP) — Xcel Energy said Wednesday it expects to pay about $640 million to settle lawsuits alleging it was responsible for starting Colorado’s most destructive wildfire that killed two people and destroyed nearly 1,000 homes in 2021.

The announcement came right before jury selection was set to begin in a trial combining lawsuits brought by homeowners and insurers over the fire in the heavily populated suburbs between Denver and Boulder.

Minneapolis-based Xcel has maintained that its equipment did not cause or contribute to the fire. It said it does not admit any fault under the settlement.

Investigators found that a sparking power line owned by Xcel was one of the causes of the fire that was fanned by high winds. Embers from a smoldering scrap wood fire set days before on a nearby property used by a Christian religious communal group was also found to have been another cause