Government, OH&S, US NewsJune 13, 2023
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 to more than $1 billion. Those damages will be determined later. The seven-week trial in Multnomah County Circuit Court wrapped with closing arguments Wednesday, Oregon Public Radio reported.
Jurors in the Multnomah County trial were to determine PacifiCorp’s responsibility, if any, 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.
In areas where the cause of the fires was not clear, PacifiCorp attorneys and experts often claimed the Beachie Creek Fire was to blame. It started weeks before Labor Day and eventually burned through Santiam Canyon.