Colorado’s largest utility company said it has reached an agreement to settle all claims relating to the 2021 Marshall fire, which tore through a thousand homes and forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate.

Xcel Energy said under the deal, it will pay north of $640 million to resolve all the pending litigation, about $350 million of which will be funded by its remaining insurance coverage. Individual agreements will still remain subject to final documentation and deliberation with individual plaintiffs.

None of the money used to settle the claims came at the expense of Xcel customers, the company said in its statement. A spokesperson did not respond to a Denver Gazette question about where the remaining $290 million will come from.

The 2021 wildfire destroyed more than 1,000 homes and businesses in Louisville, Superior, and unincorporated Boulder County, killing two people and forcing 37,000 to evacuate. In total, the fire caused nearly $2 billion in damage.

The two people who died — 69-year-old Robert Sharpe and 91-year-old Nadine Turnbull — remained in their respective homes despite the encroaching blaze. Sharpe’s family said he stayed behind to grab personal mementos. Boulder County deputies said Turnbull went back to her home to rescue her dogs.

The agreement came a day before jury selection was scheduled to begin in the civil trial to determine whether Xcel and other telecom companies had any responsibility for causing the fire, according to The Denver Gazette’s news partners 9News. The trial was expected to last for multiple months.

It took nearly a year and a half for the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office to determine what happened on Dec. 30, 2021, when 100-mph winds stirred up two separate fires within 2,000 feet of one another that later joined to become the Marshall fire.

The first fire, intentionally started as a trash fire on property owned by Twelve Tribes that was covered in dirt and left to smolder nearly a week earlier, was blown up and reignited by the wind at about 11 a.m. that day, the sheriff’s office said.

The second fire was sparked by a loose Xcel Energy power line that was swinging in the wind near the Marshall Mesa Trailhead around noon, according to the sheriff’s office.

The investigation into the incident took nearly 18 months and involved several local and state response and investigative agencies, the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office noted anew in a news release on Wednesday afternoon. The probe also included interviews with hundreds of witnesses, community tips and forensic analyses.

Authorities said that photographs obtained from a trail camera showed a detached powerline, as well as smoke and flames near the base of its pole, near the Marshall Mesa Trailhead. A U.S. Forest Service inspection of the area found evidence of flames near the pole’s base, while electrical engineers confirmed that the power line had sustained damage and discharged hot particles.

In a previous statement to The Denver Gazette, Xcel called the sheriff’s office analysis “flawed” and “incorrect,” insisting that the second fire burned at least 80 feet away from its power lines in an area with underground coal fire activity.

Xcel officials also said that, after a review of its maintenance records, its system was properly maintained.

Following news of the settlement, Xcel maintained its stance that its equipment did not cause or contribute to the fire and it does not admit any fault, wrongdoing or negligence.

“In resolving all liability from the claims, this settlement reinforces our longstanding commitment to supporting the communities we serve,” Bob Frenzel, chairman, president and CEO of Xcel Energy, said in the statement. “We recognize that the fire and its aftermath have been difficult and painful for many, and we hope that our and the telecom defendants’ contributions in today’s settlement can bring some closure for the community.”

In June, the Colorado Public Utilities Comission unanimously approved Xcel’s Wildfire Mitigation Plan, a near-$2 billion proposal to reduce fire risk by reinforcing Xcel Energy equipment. The plan included efforts to move 50 miles of power lines underground, rebuild major transmission lines and keep more detailed records of aging equipment, among others.

The plan also detailed guidelines for Xcel’s power safety shutoffs, which take place when conditions threaten infrastructure to prevent power lines from sparking.

In a June demonstration, Xcel officials highlighted enhanced technology that has been installed on infrastructure in higher risk areas that will temporarily shut off the flow of electricity in a line if it detects a fault. Operating similar to a fuse, it will attempt to reopen the line after a predetermined amount of time but will close again if the fault remains.

If an operator has placed the area under a heightened emergency protocol for wildfire activity or other environmental factors, the breaker would completely shut off the line as soon as any fault is detected. In either scenario, the lines would have to be remotely reopened by an operator to restart the flow of electricity.

As of late December 2024, three years after the fire began, more than 700 homes had been rebuilt and about a third of the affected residents had either moved away or were in the process of rebuilding. Official recovery dashboards for Louisville, Superior and unincorporated Boulder County showed that half of homeowners had returned to their original lots.

Lawyer James Avery said the settlement provides hope to the hundreds of fire victims he represents.

“There is a sense of relief and hope for an ending to this tragic disaster that they continue to struggle with as they rebuild their homes and lives,” he said.

A transcript of a hearing held Wednesday to discuss the deal has been sealed until the end of the day. Lawyers must update the court on the status of the settlement within the next month, Judge Christopher Zenisek said in an order.

“Thousands of people suffered devastating losses from the Marshall fire. It has been incredible to see the victims and community members rally around each other, rebuild, and recover,” 20th Judicial District Attorney Michael Dougherty said in the Boulder County’s news release. “But, for some, the trauma and financial losses remain incredibly difficult. It is our hope that any settlement will allow all those impacted to continue to recover and rebuild.”

The Associated Press, 9News, Denver Gazette reporters Sage Kelley and Scott Weiser and former Denver Gazette reporter Carol McKinley contributed to this report.