Oregon
Berkshire Hathaway-backed PacifiCorp ordered to pay Oregon wildfire victims another $42M
A jury in Oregon has ordered PacifiCorp to pay more than $42 million to 10 victims of devastating wildfires on Labor Day 2020 — the latest verdict in litigation that is expected to see the electric utility on the hook for billions in damages.
Last June, a jury found PacifiCorp liable for negligently failing to cut power to its 600,000 customers despite warnings from top fire officials. The jury determined it acted negligently and willfully and should have to pay punitive and other damages — a decision that applied to a class including the owners of up to 2,500 properties.
Tuesday’s decision was the third verdict applying last year’s ruling to a specific set of plaintiffs. Last month, a jury awarded $85 million to a different set of nine plaintiffs, and the jury that initially found PacifiCorp liable awarded about $90 million to 17 homeowners named as plaintiffs in that case.
Thousands of other class members are still awaiting trials, though the sides are also expected to engage in mediation that could lead to a settlement.
PacifiCorp, a unit of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, is appealing. The utility said in an email Tuesday it has settled hundreds of claims relating to the fires and “remains committed to settling all reasonable claims for actual damages under Oregon law.”
“For utilities, there is an ominous risk in making future investments in regions where they become the de facto insurers of last resort in a more frequent extreme weather environment,” the statement said.
The fires were among the worst natural disasters in Oregon’s history, killing nine people, burning more than 1,875 square miles (4,856 square kilometers) and destroying upward of 5,000 homes and other structures.
Among those covered by Tuesday’s award is the Upward Bound Camp for Persons with Special Needs in Gates, Oregon, plaintiffs attorneys said in a news release Tuesday. The camp’s executive director testified that a fire began on its property after a power line fell. It destroyed the only indoor spaces that can accommodate campers, leaving the nonprofit organization unable to hold camps during the winter, spring and fall.
The U.S. government is also threatening to sue PacifiCorp to recover nearly $1 billion in costs related to the 2020 wildfires in southern Oregon and northern California, though the company is trying to negotiate a settlement.
Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway estimates that its utilities face at least $8 billion in claims across all the wildfire lawsuits already filed in Oregon and California, although the damages could be doubled or even tripled in some of those cases and some of the lawsuits don’t list a dollar amount.
The man wanted in connection with two Pierce County homicides was shot and killed by police in Seaside, Oregon, Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank announced on X Wednesday night.
Hayes McCloud, 24, was identified earlier in the day by the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) as a person of interest in two killings — the first in Puyallup around 2:40 a.m. and the second in Tacoma shortly after 3 a.m.
On Wednesday night, authorities referred to him as a suspect.
“The suspect has been contacted by police in Seaside, Oregon,” PCSO said in a Facebook post. “We are no longer looking for the suspect and details of the contact and major incident that transpired in Oregon will be available once the investigation is concluded.”
After that announcement, Swank posted an update on X.
“After he killed the person in Tacoma, he drove away. We didn’t know where he went, but he was picked up by a Flock camera in Lewis County around 4 a.m. So we knew he was headed southbound at that point,” Swank’s post said. “The suspect was shot and killed by police in Seaside, Oregon. No cops were hurt. I’m glad he was stopped before he killed anyone else. Great police work!”
The murder suspect from the homicide on Woodland Avenue also shot and killed a person in Tacoma.
After he killed the person in Tacoma, he drove away. We didn’t know where he went, but he was picked up by a flock camera in Lewis County around 4:00 AM. So we knew he was headed…
— Sheriff Keith Swank (@SaveOurSheriff) July 9, 2026
35-year-old killed in Puyallup home early Wednesday
At 2:40 a.m. Wednesday, deputies responded to the 12500 block of Woodland Avenue E. in Puyallup after receiving reports that a man was found dead in a home. Two homeowners were at the scene when deputies arrived.
“The preliminary investigation indicates there was homicidal violence in a bedroom that eventually led outside the home,” the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office reported. “The 35-year-old male was located inside the home with multiple deadly injuries. We have no suspect in custody at this time.”
Second homicide in Tacoma less than 30 minutes later
Just after 3 a.m., police responded to the 6900 block of E. D Street in Tacoma’s Hillsdale neighborhood after multiple people reported hearing gunfire. When officers arrived, they found a man suffering from apparent gunshot wounds.
Officers began lifesaving measures, but the victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
Contributing: Frank Sumrall, MyNorthwest
Frank Lenzi is the News Director for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here.
The Oregon Country Fair is right around the corner and got an up-close preview of the annual event with generations of revelers expected to return yet again.
Vendors and construction teams were busy setting the venue up on Wednesday. It opens to the public on Friday, and organizers are expecting a big turnout.
For over fifty years, people have come together to enjoy live music, art, food and community at the event in Veneta.
“It has definitely changed and evolved and it’s definitely still holding true to the magic that has started the fair,” said fair attendee Jill Carter.
Carter has been going to the fair for about forty years, but throughout her time there, there’s always one thing on her mind.
“I’ve had a lifelong dream to do the poster, and I’ve been working on applying for a long time, and I got to do it and I’m so excited!”
Carter says over the years, she’s fine-tuned her design proposal to accurately capture the whimsey of the fair.
“In our day-to-day world, we really don’t get to connect on this kind of level of art and whimsey.”
This curated space of art and whimsey is what keeps generations returning to the fair.
“I was at a meeting the other day and somebody was a third generation Oregon Country fairgoer. Their parents were babies here. They were babies here. Now, they’re on crews that help manage the safety of this community,” says Kate Gillespie, the White Bird Rock Medicine crew coordinator.
Gillespie has been working within medical response at the fair for sixteen years.
Before fair goers even arrive, White Bird Rock Medicine works on setting up for the two hospitals provided on site as well as staffing medical crew – which consists of almost 300 medical professionals and mental health crisis workers.
“We are prepared to deal with first aid things like scrapes, bumps, bruises; injured feet are a big thing that we see – all the way up to things like cardiac events and strokes,” Gillespie explains.
And for the attendees they serve, the event is a yearly tradition that is more than just a fair – it’s a chance to catch up with old friends and make new memories.
“I think it’s really like a reunion for a lot of the people that are out here on this property,” says Gillespie.
The Oregon Country Fair runs Friday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the intersection of Suttle Road and Bus Road in Veneta.
For more information, visit the fair website.
The Oregon attorney general will ask a court to pause Paramount’s PSKY.O $110 billion bid to acquire Warner Bros. WBD.O for 60 days, saying on Tuesday that the company withheld records of its lobbying efforts.
While Paramount has told the state it will not close the deal before July 16, Attorney General Dan Rayfield said he will ask a Multnomah County court to order the company to hand over records and to delay the deal so the state can review them.
“We’re not going to let Paramount Skydance play hide the ball so they can rush through their massive merger,” Rayfield said in a statement. “Oregonians have a real stake in this deal – in our film industry, in our economy, in the choices they’ll have as consumers.”
A Paramount spokesperson said the information Oregon seeks “has nothing to do with whether this transaction complies with Oregon’s antitrust laws and is not a legitimate basis to delay a plainly lawful, pro-competitive transaction.”
The company has provided the state with documents relevant to the merger, the spokesperson added.
Oregon is seeking documents regarding “Project Warrior,” which was Paramount’s internal code name for efforts to obtain regulatory clearance. The state is also asking for records related to the company’s efforts to lobby the Trump administration for support of the merger.
Paramount CEO David Ellison’s father, billionaire Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, has cultivated ties with President Donald Trump, and the company has hired former Trump officials.
Oregon is also seeking information on whether Paramount had any role in the U.S. Department of Justice’s statement announcing it had cleared the deal.
While Oregon ordinarily “would afford significant weight” to the DOJ’s determination, the state plans to cite a Wall Street Journal report that officials overrode career staff attorneys at the DOJ who were leaning toward a recommendation to challenge the deal, according to documents to be filed in court that Reuters reviewed.
The DOJ issued a lengthy statement last month saying it believed the deal would “increase competition across the media and entertainment ecosystem, with benefits for American consumers and workers.”
The company has said the deal would create a stronger streaming competitor to Netflix NFLX.O and Disney DIS.N, and benefit creatives and consumers.
California, New York and other U.S. states are preparing to sue to block the deal, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters last month. The states have authority to enforce laws against mergers that they believe would unlawfully decrease competition.
Opponents of the deal, including some actors, writers and media workers, have worried that it would hurt jobs.
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