PacifiCorp has reached an agreement to pay $575 million to address the federal government’s claims for damages resulting from six wildfires that occurred in Oregon and California in 2020 and 2022, federal officials announced on Friday. This is the utility’s latest multimillion – dollar payment related to the deadly wildfires.
The settlement resolves the federal government’s claims that PacifiCorp’s electrical lines carelessly sparked four fires in Oregon in 2020 and two fires in California in 2020 and 2022, as stated by the Justice Department. The funds will be used to restore some of the 290,000 acres (117,359 hectares) of public land that was burned. It will also assist in reimbursing the government for the cost of fighting the fires. The department said this is “critical because the U.S. Forest Service now spends more than half of its budget on wildfire suppression each year.”
“This settlement aligns with the Department’s long – standing policy of holding individuals and corporations accountable for damages caused by wildfires. Every fire that affects federal lands, regardless of its size, is a priority,” U.S. Attorney Eric Grant of the Eastern District of California said in a statement.
PacifiCorp stated that the settlement shows its continuous commitment to resolving claims related to the fires. According to its statement, it has so far settled claims amounting to over $2 billion.
The utility has faced [missing text] over the 2020 wildfires in Oregon. In other cases that have gone to trial in the state, juries in [missing text] have ordered PacifiCorp to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to victims.
In 2023, an Oregon jury [missing text] for negligently failing to cut power to its 600,000 customers despite warnings from top fire officials. The jury found that it acted negligently and willfully and should pay punitive and other damages – a decision that applies to a class of property owners. More than a thousand class members have cases scheduled for trial in 2026 and 2027.
PacifiCorp’s appeal of the case is still in the process of going through the state court.
The 2020 Labor Day weekend fires [missing text] in Oregon’s history. They claimed the lives of 11 people, burned more than a million acres (404,686 hectares), and destroyed thousands of homes.
In California, the 2020 Slater Fire and 2022 [missing text] also took several lives.
Earlier this week, PacifiCorp announced that it will sell its wind, natural gas generation and distribution assets and infrastructure in the state of Washington to [missing company name] for $1.9 billion to help stabilize its finances. Even though it is appealing the wildfire judgments against it, PacifiCorp has had to post bonds with the court, which has put a strain on its cash flow.
Darin Carroll, PacifiCorp’s CEO, said on Tuesday that the move would “improve the company’s financial stability while simplifying our operations” and help ensure reliable service for customers in Washington.
The utility’s parent company, Warren Buffett’s [missing company name], has more than $382 billion in cash, but the conglomerate expects PacifiCorp to handle its own obligations. The executive who led Berkshire’s utility unit for years, Greg Abel, is now Berkshire’s CEO.
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Associated Press writer Josh Funk contributed from Omaha, Nebraska.