RIO GRANDE CITY, TX — The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas has ordered that the lawsuit filed by Jose L. Garcia and other Starr County residents against AEP Texas, Spark Energy, and other defendants be returned to state court, following a 17-month delay that left multiple families displaced and living with relatives.

Court documents reveal a troubling pattern of ignored warnings before the devastating June 20, 2023 fire. Beginning in December 2022, Maria Sanchez noticed power lines sparking behind her home due to tree limbs rubbing against them. She immediately reported this dangerous condition to her retail electric provider, Spark Energy, who assured her they would notify AEP Texas to fix the issue.

When the sparking continued, Sanchez called 911 in February 2023, reporting the hazardous condition to the Starr County Sheriff’s Department, who indicated they would contact AEP. On March 17, 2023, neighbor Herby Alanis also witnessed the power lines sparking and contacted AEP directly. Although Alanis later observed an AEP service truck in the area, no repairs were made. In a subsequent encounter with another AEP service truck, Alanis personally showed the employee the dangerous sparking and was assured a service crew would address the problem. Again, no action was taken.

Despite six months of repeated warnings from multiple residents through various channels, neither Spark Energy nor AEP Texas took effective action to prevent the impending disaster. On June 20, 2023, the sparking power lines ignited a fire behind Sanchez’s storage shed. The situation was exacerbated when firefighters discovered that local fire hydrants had been removed, forcing them to travel to distant locations to refill their tanker trucks. This delay allowed the fire to spread rapidly through the neighborhood.

The fire destroyed the Garcia family’s home completely, burning it to its foundation. Other residents on Chapa Street and Rangel Street suffered extensive property damage, with two residents being injured after falling from a ladder while fighting the flames. For the past 17 months, the Garcia family have been displaced, many living with relatives while waiting for their day in court.

“This ruling represents hope for these families who did everything right – they repeatedly warned about the danger and were ignored,” said J. Michael Moore, attorney for the plaintiffs. “The federal court has recognized valid claims under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act against Spark Energy for their failure to act on these warnings. Now these families can finally seek justice in their own community court.”

Previous coverage:
https://www.krgv.com/news/las-lomas-family-devastated-after-losing-everything-in-fire-that-destroyed-three-homes

https://www.valleycentral.com/news/local-news/las-lomas-neighborhood-recovers-from-three-house-fire/