A power company based in Oregon, named PacifiCorp, has agreed to pay $575 million to resolve the United States’ claims for damages from six wildfires in California and Oregon.
The settlement resolves the United States’ claims that PacifiCorp’s electrical lines negligently started all six fires.
The settlement monies will help repay the United States for the substantial costs it incurred fighting the fires, which is critical because the U.S. Forest Service now spends more than half of its budget on wildfire suppression annually. Settlement funds will also be distributed to the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to restore some of the 290,000 acres of public land that were burned.
The two California fires are:
- The “Slater Fire,” which began on Sept. 8, 2020, on Slater Butte National Forest lands within the Klamath National Forest and burned 157,229 acres of federal land within the Klamath, Six River, and Rogue River Siskiyou National Forests; and
- The “McKinney Fire,” which began on July 29, 2022, on land next to the Klamath National Forest and burned 39,000 acres of federal land.
The four Oregon fires are:
- The “242 Fire,” which began on Sept. 7, 2020, near Chiloquin and burned 8,916 acres of federal land;
- The “Archie Creek Fire,” which began on Sept. 8, 2020, near French Creek in the Umpqua National Forest and burned 67,000 acres of federal land;
- The “Echo Mountain Complex Fire,” which began on Sept. 7, 2020, near Otis, Oregon, and burned approximately 2,500 acres, including federal land; and
- The “South Obenchain Fire,” which began on Sept. 8, 2020, east of Eagle Point and burned 14,780 acres of federal land.
“The United States and PacifiCorp have reached a settlement that ensures fair compensation to the American taxpayer for fire-related damages,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “This agreement strikes a balance by addressing the government’s significant fire-suppression costs and loss of natural resources without preventing PacifiCorp from offering electricity at fair prices.”
This settlement is the result of a joint effort by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for Oregon and the Eastern District of California, the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of the Interior.
“This settlement served the Department’s longstanding policy of holding individuals and corporations responsible for damages caused by wildfires. Every fire impacting federal lands, no matter the size, is a priority,” said U.S. Attorney Eric Grant of the Eastern District of California.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tara Amin and Kelli L. Taylor for the Eastern District of California and Alexis Lien for the District of Oregon handled the cases for the U.S. Attorney’s Offices.
“Wildfires remain a recurring threat to our natural resources, the safety of our communities, and their economic well-being. The costs of land losses and fire responses are substantial,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon Scott E. Bradford. “Recouping the costs associated with these wildfires is a priority for our office, and this settlement achieves that.”
The claims resolved by this settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability. PacifiCorp continues to deny liability for these fires.