PacifiCorp will appeal jury verdict
By Terry Murry on Tuesday, June 13th, 2023 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
PORTLAND – A Multnomah County Jury has ruled PacifiCorp must pay more than $71 million in damages due to the belief that Pacific Power played a significant role in the wildfires that swept through parts of Oregon on Labor Day weekend in 2020. The trial began in late April. It took the jury less than two days of deliberations to issue its nearly unanimous verdict. Because the lawsuit was a civil action and not criminal, a unanimous verdict is not required.
The fires named in the suit included those in the Santiam Canyon as well as the 242 Fire and Obenchain Fire in Southern Oregon and the Echo Mountain Complex on the coast. There were 17 named plaintiffs in the suit. Their lawyers claimed that leaders at PacifiCorp should have known from weather reports and other indicators that a major windstorm and dry conditions had the potential to spark uncontrollable fires.
In its defense, PacifiCorp attorneys said the company had to balance fire risks with the dangers of turning off power in broad areas of the state. The company put forth expert testimony and its own employees to make the case that Pacific Power is a leader in wildfire mitigation in Oregon.
PacifiCorp said that it plans to pursue appeals and is confident that it will prevail. “We are proud to have told the story of our incredible employees, who meet the call to service every day in support of our communities and did so in the face of the preexisting, lightning-caused Beachie Creek Fire that roared into the Santiam Canyon causing widespread damage that weekend,” the company stated in a prepared release.
