Thousands of Marshall Fire victims settle with Xcel Energy

BOULDER, Colo. (CN) — Over the last month, 2,000 plaintiffs signed settlements with Xcel Energy, agreeing to withdraw their claims against the utility for losses in the 2021 Marshall Fire, attorneys representing the utility told a Colorado judge on Wednesday.

“With respect to the individual plaintiffs, we already have 2,000-plus signed up, and we anticipate that we will have binding agreements with a majority of the plaintiffs,” said attorney Kevin Orsini, who represents the utility.

An investigation by the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office attributed two causes to the blaze on Dec. 30, 2021: embers from a loose Xcel Energy power line and the remains of a scrap fire that had been buried on Christmas Eve.

Winds reaching 100 mph stirred the sparks through drought-dried brush and ignited the 6,000-acre fire across Boulder, Broomfield, Louisville and Superior, claiming the lives of two people and destroying 1,000 structures along the way. With damages in the billions of dollars, the Marshall Fire has been dubbed the state’s most destructive fire to date.

Over the last four years, thousands of individual plaintiffs filed more than 300 lawsuits against Xcel Energy, in addition to public entities and subrogating insurance companies.

The evening before jury selection was scheduled to start in September, Xcel Energy announced it had reached a settlement with the plaintiffs, while declining to admit fault for starting the fire.

Since September, Orsini said the parties have been working to move the agreements from principal onto paper.

“We’re not able to stand up here today and say we’re done-done, given the number of parties, but the confidence we had when we reported a month ago that we had settled a majority of the claims, that remains,” said Orsini who practices with the New York firm Cravath Swaine.

To date, Orsini estimates fewer than 10 individual plaintiffs have rejected the settlement and intend to go to trial.

Attorney Eve-Lynn Rapp, who represents several plaintiffs, suggested the probate system may be more appropriate for processing the thousands of settlement agreements. First Judicial District Judge Christopher Zenisek said he was open to the suggestion, though it lay outside his area of expertise.

One individual representing his mother’s estate, David Smith, urged the court to ensure speedy relief reaches the plaintiffs.

“The Marshall Fire process has been going for four years — let’s move forward,” Smith said. “Let’s get past this.”

Zenisek agreed.

“I share that sentiment,” Zenisek said. “Let’s get past the finished line tie it up, and make sure we do so in a way that people don’t have second thoughts.”

While the complaints were filed in Boulder County, which resides in Colorado’s 20th Judicial District, Zenisek stepped in from nearby Jefferson County to oversee the proceedings following a local judge’s recusal.

Although none of the settlements require Zenisek’s approval, he agreed to schedule a status conference on Jan. 14, 2026, to ensure the process moves efficiently.

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