Company Still Fighting Some Claims
PacifiCorp maintains it will continue defending lawsuits involving the Beachie Creek/Santiam Canyon fire.
It cites an Oregon Department of Forestry report concluding the utility’s equipment did not start or contribute to that blaze.
Jury Verdicts Continue to Climb
The settlement follows an October Oregon jury verdict ordering PacifiCorp to pay more than $26 million to the latest group of plaintiffs.
A 2023 jury had previously found PacifiCorp liable for the fires, faulting the utility for keeping its power lines energized despite forecasts of a dangerous windstorm, and ruling punitive damages should equal 25% of compensatory damages in future trials.
Life-Altering Losses for Survivors
Among the October verdicts, the largest single award—$5.5 million—went to David Hoy, whose long-held dream job on a horse ranch ended in ashes.
Hoy testified that he lost nearly everything: his home, his livelihood, and even his relationship with his teenage daughter, who relocated to live with her mother after the fires.
PacifiCorp stipulated to economic damages for all but one plaintiff, Deane Clark, a jewelry maker who claimed extensive lost valuables.
Clark received $550,000 in economic damages and $4.5 million in non-economic damages.
With multiple trials still unfolding, wildfire-related verdicts now sit in the hundreds of millions, with single-trial outcomes this year reaching as high as $63 million.
