Power line pole at fault in Texas wildfire that killed two people, report says

Investigation by forest service into Smokehouse Creek fire says decayed Xcel Energy pole ‘had broken off at ground level’

The biggest wildfire in Texas state history, which killed two people and scorched more than 1m acres, was caused by a power line pole that had decayed at the base, an investigation has concluded.

The finding comes from a Texas A&M forest service investigation into the Smokehouse Creek fire, which blazed through the state’s Panhandle region and into neighbouring Oklahoma after breaking out near the small town of Stinnett on 26 February.