A study by the Oregon Department of Forestry says the power company, which a jury held liable in 2023, was not responsible for the Santiam Creek fire.
A new study by the Oregon Department of Forestry has found that the 2020 Santiam Creek fire was caused by embers floating up from the nearby Beachie Creek fire.
This determination contradicts a 2023 Multnomah County jury that found PacifiCorp grossly negligent for keeping transmission lines powered in the lead-up to the most destructive fire year in Oregon’s history.
“ODF investigators did not find any evidence that reported powerline ignitions had contributed to the overall spread of the fire in the Santiam Canyon,” the report states.
The Berkshire Hathaway-owned utility says it’s on the hook to pay more than $6 billion in damages as a result of the jury verdict in the so-called James case.
The ODF study represents a major victory for the embattled utility, which faces a number of ongoing 2020-related legal challenges, reports the Oregon Journalism Project, which obtained the ODF report through a public records request.
“ODF investigators did not find any evidence that reported powerline ignitions had contributed to the overall spread of the fire in the Santiam Canyon … The most probable explanation for these ignitions is spot fires from the main Beachie Creek Fire, which was burning upwind of the ignitions in the Santiam Canyon,” the report states.
All told, the cluster of fires in Santiam Canyon killed five people and burned more than 400,000 acres, destroying parts of Gates and Lyons. The ODF report confirms several small fires were in fact caused by downed PacifCorp lines — but all were extinguished by firefighters or property owners before they could spread.
PacifiCorp has already appealed the ruling in the James case and remains engaged in numerous civil actions involving dozens of plaintiffs related to the 2020 season. How the new report will impact those matters is unclear. The victims include timber companies, home owners and dozens of wine industry businesses. A case involving Newberg’s Patty Green Cellars is scheduled to go to trial this summer.
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The report could potentially help PacifiCorp appeal lawsuits and win favorable judgments in future cases. Juries have found the utility responsible for failing to de-power its transmission lines in the canyon.
So far the jury’s verdict has resulted in $270 million in judgments against 44 fire victims in Santiam Canyon and three other locations. But the company faces more than 1,500 complaints and determining damages could take a decade to resolve.
Jury verdicts are difficult to challenge. The Portland Business Journal quotes a Lewis & Clark law professor saying that PacifiCorp must clear several legal hurdles before the report can be used to set aside judgments.
PacifiCorp spokesman Simon Gutierrez says ODF’s new report provides important new information not available during the 2023 trial in the James case.
“The ODF’s thorough investigation, spanning many years, uncovered no evidence that any power line ignitions played a significant role in the fire’s spread in the Santiam Canyon,” Gutierrez said. “There were other ignitions in the area where no roads or powerlines were present. The most probable explanation for these ignitions is spot fires from the main Beachie Creek Fire, which was burning upwind of the ignitions in the Santiam Canyon.”
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