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PacifiCorp could be on the hook for billions after jury verdict in devastating Oregon wildfires

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PacifiCorp could be on the hook for billions after jury verdict in devastating Oregon wildfires


PORTLAND, Ore. — A jury in Oregon on Monday found the electric utility PacifiCorp responsible for causing devastating fires during Labor Day weekend in 2020, ordering the company to pay tens of millions of dollars to 17 homeowners who sued and finding it liable for broader damages that could push the total award into the billions.

The Portland utility is one of several owned by billionaire Warren Buffett’s Omaha, Nebraska-based investment conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway
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The property owners, suing on behalf of a class of thousands of others, alleged that PacifiCorp negligently failed to shut off power to its 600,000 customers during a windstorm, despite warnings from then-Gov. Kate Brown’s chief-of-staff and top fire officials, and that its power lines were responsible for multiple blazes.

There has been no official cause determined for the Labor Day fires, which killed nine people, burned more than 1,875 square miles in Oregon, and destroyed upward of 5,000 homes and structures. The blazes together were one of the worst natural disaster’s in Oregon history.

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In a written statement, lawyers for the plaintiffs called the decision historic and said it “paves the way for potentially billions of dollars in further damages for the class members.”

PacifiCorp immediately said it would appeal.

“Escalating climate change, challenging state and federal forest management, and population growth in the wildland-urban interface are substantial factors contributing to growing wildfire risk,” PacifiCorp said in an emailed statement after the verdict. “These systemic issues affect all Oregonians and are larger than any single utility.”

The Multnomah County Circuit Court jury awarded more than $73 million to 17 homeowners who sued PacifiCorp a month after the fires, with each receiving between $3 million and $5.5 million for physical damage to their property and emotional distress.

The jury also applied its liability finding to a larger class including the owners of nearly 2,500 properties damaged in the fires, which could push the price tag for damages well into the billions of dollars. Those damages will be determined later.

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The jury heard testimony Monday afternoon over whether to make PacifiCorp pay punitive damages. Nick Rosinia, an attorney for plaintiffs, told the jurors they should award punitive damages totaling five times what they have already been awarded for the harm PacifiCorp caused.

Doug Dixon, an attorney for the power company, insisted that none were warranted. The company keeps working on safety and was not recklessly negligent, he said. And while lawyers for the property owners described PacifiCorp as deep-pocketed, the company is $9 billion in debt.

Among those in court for the verdict was Rachelle McMaster, whose home in the town of Otis near the Oregon coast was destroyed in the fires. Wearing a tie-dye T-shirt that read “keep Earth awesome,” she wiped her eyes and clasped her spouse’s hand after it was read.

The seven-week trial wrapped with closing arguments last Wednesday, Oregon Public Radio reported.

The plaintiffs alleged PacifiCorp was negligent when it didn’t shut off its power lines despite extreme wind warnings over the holiday weekend.

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“They have no real response to any of this,” plaintiffs’ attorney Cody Berne said during closing statements. “(PacifiCorp) started the fires. They destroyed the evidence. And now they have come before you and are asking not to be held accountable.”

Jurors were to determine PacifiCorp’s responsibility in four of those blazes: the Santiam Canyon fires east of Salem; the Echo Mountain Complex near Lincoln City; the South Obenchain fire near Eagle Point; and the Two Four Two fire near the southwest Oregon town of Chiloquin.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs said utility executives kept the power on even as the company’s line workers took calls about damaged electrical equipment. The same executives, attorneys said, took no responsibility at the trial, saying it was front-line workers who make de-energization decisions, the news outlet reported.

In his closing arguments, Dixon said “alleged power line fires” in Santiam Canyon, where more than half the class members live, could not have spread to plaintiff’s homes. Plus, PacifiCorp does not have equipment in some areas where they were accused of causing damage, he said.

The risk of wildfires is increasingly fraught for power companies in the West. Pacific Gas & Electric 
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declared bankruptcy and pleaded guilty to 84 counts of manslaughter after its neglected equipment caused a fire in the Sierra Nevada foothills in 2018 that destroyed nearly 19,000 homes, businesses and other buildings and virtually razed the town of Paradise, California.

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Oregon

Oregon legislature concerned over Trump’s executive orders

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Oregon legislature concerned over Trump’s executive orders


SALEM Ore. (KPTV) – Oregon’s legislative session officially kicked off Tuesday, one day after the inauguration of President Donald Trump.

Throughout the state capitol, there were conversations about how decisions made in Washington D.C. could impact state government in Salem.

On day one, President Donald Trump signed nearly 50 executive orders. With so many to review, it will take a few days to see which are enforceable and which will face legal challenges.

But one executive order dealing with electric vehicles caught the attention of Oregon’s Joint Transportation Committee’s Co-Vice Chair.

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The executive order is called “Unleashing American Energy.” It rolls back multiple executive orders from the Biden administration addressing climate change and clean energy, but it was specifically written to “Eliminate the electric vehicle (EV) mandate.”

“As soon as I heard it yesterday I reached out to our legislative council to see how that is going to apply to what DEQ has done in this state,” Representative Shelly Boshart Davis said.

Rep. Boshart Davis has served on the Joint Transportation Committee for several years. She opposed the “Advanced Clean Cars II” rule, which was passed in 2021. That rule requires auto manufacturers in Oregon to make all new passenger cars “Battery electric or plug-in hybrid EVs” by 2035. Rep. Boshart Davis hopes Trump’s order might end that rule.

“Those can only exist because they rely on an EPA waiver and if the waivers get rescinded will that apply in states like Oregon, Washington, California New York,” Rep. Boshart Davis said, “But that remains to be seen, we are less than 24 hours into it, but it does put question marks on things that were passed in this state.”

But democratic leaders said these orders might not lead to major changes, pointing out challenges the Oregon legislature has faced before.

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President Trump spent his first day in office signing executive orders and vowing to fulfill campaign promises.

“In his first administration, the first Trump presidency we took action when there were rollbacks on clean water or clean air regulations and we said we would like to keep those regulations in place here in Oregon. We also codified Roe v. Wade,” Oregon Speaker of the House Julie Fahey said.

While the state legislature has challenged executive orders coming from the Trump Administration in the past, Speaker Fahey said other executive orders will have to be challenged through the courts instead.

“I would specifically point to the executive order of birthright citizenship which is likely unconstitutional and I was glad to see the Attorney General Rayfield join on to the lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of that order,” Speaker Fahey said.

While the executive orders coming down from the white house may impact future legislation here in Oregon, both Rep. Boshart Davis and Speaker Fahey said the main goal of the 2025 legislative session will be to tackle the cost of living in Oregon.

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“I think top of mind for house Republicans and Oregonians is affordability in this state,” Rep. Boshart Davis said.

“We have heard loud and clear that those issues are driving what they want the government to be working on making housing more affordable, health care, utilities, there will be a number of big-ticket items like that the legislature will take up action this year,” Speaker Fahey said

All of President Trump’s executive orders are still very new and their impact is unclear. But there are some aspects that Oregon’s House Republicans are standing firmly behind, while House Democrats plan to challenge their legality.



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Where does Oregon football stand among betting favorites to win national title in 2025-26?

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Where does Oregon football stand among betting favorites to win national title in 2025-26?


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With the 2024-25 college football season over following Ohio State’s 34-23 win over Notre Dame in the national championship Monday night, sportsbooks are already looking ahead and released favorites for the national title next season.

Oregon is among those teams following a historic first season in the Big Ten that resulted in a conference title but a disappointing loss in the Rose Bowl to the Buckeyes.

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What are Oregon football’s odds to win national championship next season?

The Ducks opened with the fourth-best odds to win a national title next season, per BetMGM at +700. Only Ohio State (+450), Texas (+650) and Georgia (+650) had better odds.

Fellow Big Ten rival Penn State had the fifth-best odds at +850 and national runner-up Notre Dame was sixth at +1,200.

Oregon opens its 2025 schedule against Montana State on Aug. 30 at Autzen Stadium.

Alec Dietz covers University of Oregon football, volleyball, women’s basketball and baseball for The Register-Guard. You may reach him at adietz@registerguard.com and you can follow him on X @AlecDietz.





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Tribes and 34 organizations across Oregon, 2 in C.O. receive $23 million in grants to support home repairs

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Tribes and 34 organizations across Oregon, 2 in C.O. receive  million in grants to support home repairs


OHA’s Healthy Homes Grant Program seeks improved housing conditions, health outcomes for low-income residents to prevent displacement

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — Oregon Health Authority has awarded $23 million to repair and rehabilitate homes of low-income residents to eliminate risks to residents’ health to the Nine Federally Recognized Tribes of Oregon and 34 local organizations.

The funds are from the Healthy Homes Grant Program, established to improve health by rehabilitating living environments in Oregon.

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In Central Oregon, NeighborImpact is receiving $750,000 in leveraged funding to expand the scope and capacity of its existing weatherization program to provide home repair services to households across the region.

Housing Works, meanwhile, will get about $583,000 to make health, accessibility, safety and preservation improvements to three properties it owns, totaling 33 units that serve disabled and very low-income people.

“Research has shown there is an inextricable link between a person’s health and housing status, and that quality of housing is a social determinant of health,” said Oregon Public Health Division Director Naomi Adeline-Biggs, MBBS, MPH. “With the Healthy Homes grants, Oregon is helping to prevent and reduce short- and long-term negative health outcomes by addressing the quality of housing as a public health issue.”

People living in poverty are more likely to live in substandard housing that is not healthy or safe and are at higher risk of losing homes that are not well-maintained or repaired. Older and substandard housing is more likely to contain hazards such as peeling or deteriorated lead-based paint. Delaying maintenance can lead to leaking roofs or pipes, which can cause mold. Uninsulated homes can be drafty and uncomfortable for residents and result in higher energy bills.

Homes that are not well-maintained or repaired can also lead to lead poisoning, asthma and other respiratory diseases, cancer, unintended injures, increased stress, poor school attendance for children and missed workdays for parents. Improved housing conditions for low-income families can prevent illness and reduce their health care costs, improve safety, conserve natural resources and reduce energy costs for occupants.

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The organizations—nonprofits, local housing authorities, community action agencies and local governments serving communities in all areas of the state—are each receiving between $199,980 to $750,000 to use over a three-year period. The grants are intended to help homeowners and landlords repair and rehabilitate homes inhabited by low-income residents, including renters, to improve their environmental health and safety.

The Oregon Legislature established the HHGP in 2021. It directs OHA to provide grants to local organizations serving low-income residents to repair and rehabilitate homes, including rental properties, throughout the state.

Funding recipients

OHA is awarding nearly $20.4 million in HHGP funds to 34 organizations through a competitive grant process and were selected from a pool of 75 applicants.

The grantees with the strongest proposals for meeting the priorities set in state law include organizations experienced in improving the health or safety of occupants of residences, maximizing energy efficiency or extending the usable life of homes which serves eligible households in Oregon; and organizations serving historically unrepresented and underserved communities, including people of color, those who are low-income, and American Indian and Alaska Native communities.

In addition, OHA has set aside $3 million in HHGP funds for the Nine Federally Recognized Tribes of Oregon, honoring government-to-government relationships. OHA is working with each Tribe to award this funding.

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For a video highlighting this work and to hear from recipients, visit this link.

A full list of competitive grant recipients is available on the HHGP website, www.oregon.gov/healthyhomes.

Project examples

Examples of funded projects include home assessments to identify priority structural, health and safety repair needs; energy efficiency updates to protect against extreme temperatures; roof replacements; making homes less susceptible to wildfire damage; and abatement of radon, mold, mildew, and lead-based paint.

The projects will use HHGP funds to fill gaps and leverage other state and federal funding, such as Community Development Block Grants, Weatherization Assistance Program funding and the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund.

Grant funding schedule

OHA sent letters of intent to successful grant applicants in August and has been working with individual organizations to finalize grant agreements. The agency hopes to finish executing the grant agreements by the end of January. Grant recipients will have up to three years to complete their projects.

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