PORTLAND, Ore (KOIN) – A billion dollar class action lawsuit against PacifiCorp has been underway for three months – and now it’s up to a jury to determine whether the company is to blame for the devastating wildfires of 2020.
The suit had its closing arguments on Wednesday after dozens of Oregonians accused PacifiCorp of not turning off its power lines during a windstorm over Labor Day 2020 weekend that spread the flames.
As of now, the official cause of the fire has yet to be determined.
The wildfires burned more than a million acres, destroying more than 5,000 homes and buildings. Nine people died and thousands lost everything they had.
During the windstorm, many utility companies turned off their power lines in the area – but PacifiCorp did not. When the fire conditions were extreme, the lawsuit alleges the lines and equipment that came down sparked the fires that led to the destruction.
The lawsuit also accuses the company of not adequately clearing vegetation near the powerlines that caught fire.
“People want some answers, some accountability from their utility company who they didn’t get a chance to choose. They didn’t pick to have this utility company. They didn’t pick anything to happen on Labor Day 2020 that happened because of PacifiCorp,” said Nicholas Rosinia, the plaintiffs attorney.
Meanwhile, PacifiCorp’s attorneys denied the company was negligent, saying it did not order power shut-offs due to lack of weather data at the time. They say the fires were caused by the spread of other wildfires in the region, and that PacifiCorp had invested heavily in wildfire mitigation.
Doug Dixon, PacifiCorp’s attorney, also said the risks of not having power in a community during a disaster could cause other health and safety problems
While there are 17 plaintiffs named in the lawsuit, the class action covers damages for thousands of fire victims that suffered losses, emotional distress and possible punitive damages.
Stay with KOIN 6 as this story develops.
