Posted on Dec 7, 2023
PacifiCorp agrees to $299M settlement for Southern Oregon wildfire
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PacifiCorp, the parent company of the Oregon electric utility Pacific Power, will pay out $299 million to settle lawsuits related to a 2020 wildfire in Southern Oregon that destroyed around 170 homes.
Tuesday’s settlement, first reported by Bloomberg, resolves years of legal wrangling over the Archie Creek Fire, which burned more than 130,000 acres along the North Umpqua River near Glide, Oregon.
Lawsuits brought against Pacific Power claimed that the utility ignored significant warning signs that a windstorm over Labor Day weekend in 2020 posed a major fire risk. Dry conditions that summer had left many of Oregon’s forests at extreme danger of burning, and powerful east winds that year fueled the state’s most devastating wildfire season on record. The lawsuits also claimed that by not turning off power to its equipment, Pacific Power helped start or grow the Archie Creek wildfire.
In a statement, the company said it intends to pay the settlement to more than 460 people impacted by the wildfire as a way to resolve all “reasonable claims for actual damages.”
“The 2020 wildfires were undeniably tragic, and PacifiCorp is pleased to resolve this matter,” the company wrote.
Tuesday’s settlement, first reported by Bloomberg, resolves years of legal wrangling over the Archie Creek Fire, which burned more than 130,000 acres along the North Umpqua River near Glide, Oregon.
Lawsuits brought against Pacific Power claimed that the utility ignored significant warning signs that a windstorm over Labor Day weekend in 2020 posed a major fire risk. Dry conditions that summer had left many of Oregon’s forests at extreme danger of burning, and powerful east winds that year fueled the state’s most devastating wildfire season on record. The lawsuits also claimed that by not turning off power to its equipment, Pacific Power helped start or grow the Archie Creek wildfire.
In a statement, the company said it intends to pay the settlement to more than 460 people impacted by the wildfire as a way to resolve all “reasonable claims for actual damages.”
“The 2020 wildfires were undeniably tragic, and PacifiCorp is pleased to resolve this matter,” the company wrote.
PacifiCorp agrees to $299M settlement for Southern Oregon wildfire
Posted from opb.org
Lawsuit
Posted 5 mo ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."A jury in Oregon has found electric utility PacifiCorp responsible for causing devastating fires during Labor Day weekend in 20201234. The jury ordered the company to pay tens of millions of dollars to 17 homeowners who sued and found it liable for broader damages that could push the total award into the billions24. The jury also slapped PacifiCorp with $18 million in punitive damages for its reckless and outrageous indifference to the wellbeing of residents3."...
..."A jury in Oregon has found electric utility PacifiCorp responsible for causing devastating fires during Labor Day weekend in 20201234. The jury ordered the company to pay tens of millions of dollars to 17 homeowners who sued and found it liable for broader damages that could push the total award into the billions24. The jury also slapped PacifiCorp with $18 million in punitive damages for its reckless and outrageous indifference to the wellbeing of residents3."...
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