Jury to decide what PacifiCorp pays after 2020 wildfire damages
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – After PacifiCorp was found responsible for causing the Labor Day fires of 2020, a jury will decide just how much money the company should pay in the civil trial.
The jury has already awarded $70 million to the wildfire victims, but if the jury sides with the victims filing the lawsuit, that could mean hundreds of millions of dollars.
The amount depends upon what jurors believe could send a message to PacifiCorp to not repeat the actions of 2020. Attorneys representing the victims pointed to the $10 billion of net worth for PacifiCorp and the $100 million in dividends given to shareholders last year as resources the jury should target.
On Monday, the jury found PacifiCorp, the owner of Pacific Power, was negligent and reckless in its actions during the wind storm that led to the 2020 Labor Day fires. The utility company did not shut off power in fire-prone areas, leading to several fires including the Santiam Canyon Fire and Echo Mountain Complex fires that burned hundreds of thousands of acres.
Now the jury is being asked if keeping its power lines in operation was a conscious decision.
“They knew there were simple steps they could choose, simple steps they could take to ensure safety and they chose not to,” said Attorney Cody Berne. “They knew they didn't have the information, and that was their excuse for not acting.”
The plaintiffs pointed to PacifiCorp’s revenues last year, which totaled over $900 million.
PacifiCorp attorneys say that if the jury awards too much in damages, it could cut into the money they’d be able to spend preventing fires.
“We are constantly evaluating our wildfire mitigation plan and are challenging ourselves to make sure we are doing everything we can to mitigate wildfire risk into the future,” said PacifiCorp Attorney Douglas Dixon. “That's not indifference.”
PacifiCorp told the jury they did not have a meteorologist on staff in 2020, and now has six. The company also added 100 weather stations for better data for power shut-offs.
“It's not about people in the field trying to do their jobs. It's about Mr. Brookhouse, Mr. Lucas, and [the executives] who cannot even say if there's an emergency,” said Bernes. “There's a total lack of accountability even today.”
They pointed to fires over the last decade as reasons the utility should have acted sooner, including several others outside of the lawsuit, where the utility has settled or investigations indicated their equipment was at fault.
“It’s not just about those four fires, why didn't they learn from fires they started in 2009?” Berne said.
Stay with KOIN 6 as this story develops.