A federal court will soon hear arguments on whether three utilities must compensate victims of the 2020 Holiday Farm Fire, which the victims accuse the utilities of starting.
Oral argument in the case was scheduled for Aug. 29, but was delayed for at least one week as the parties wait for additional information from the U.S. Forest Service.
Complaint: Utilities to blame for devastating blaze
Melanie Stanley holds a photo of the remains of the Upper McKenzie Fire Station in Blue River after the Holiday Farm Fire swept through town.
In their lawsuit, survivors of the Holiday Farm Fire accuse three utilities with power lines in the area (Bonneville Power Administration, Eugene Water & Electric Board, and Lane Electric Co-Operative) of starting that fire, which burned through 173,393 acres and 723 structures. They seek $243 million in compensation.
The 242 plaintiffs in that case, through their lawyers, argue the utilities received ample warning from the National Weather Service and through a Red Flag warning leading up to the Sept. 7, 2020, fire, and should have taken steps to prevent it.
Plaintiffs describe the Holiday Farm Fire as a merger of two fires: One started by a BPA power line — which they say should have been deenergized — that ignited a tree they say also should have been removed.
The second fire, they argue, started when a tree fell onto overlapping EWEB and LEC powerlines. The energized LEC line re-energized the de-energized EWEB line, igniting nearby trees. Plaintiffs say LEC should have de-energized its lines. The plaintiffs say the trees near the lines should have been trimmed, and also accuse EWEB of taking 1 hour and 20 minutes to return calls from emergency responders.
Defendants focus on jurisdiction, timeliness
A red picnic table that survived the Holiday Farm Fire in Blue River has become a symbol of resilience for the small community along the McKenzie River.
The utilities have raised multiple defenses in court documents.
EWEB argued a few of the plaintiffs’ claims were untimely and the judge granted that request.
BPA argued it acted within its discretion, saying it has no agreement, regulation, or internal policy telling it to de-energize its lines under the conditions that led up to the fire and that it followed its policies on maintaining the vegetation around these lines. It also argued the plaintiffs don’t have jurisdiction to sue BPA.
Multiple lawsuits consolidated in federal court
The case that was scheduled, Adams et al v. BPA et al, has been consolidated with three more. All the cases accuse the utilities of starting the fire, but represent different plaintiffs.
Two lawsuits, including Adams, are on behalf of named residents and property owners; one is on behalf of their insurers; and one is on behalf of timber businesses that owned forestland in the fire area.
These cases have replaced the cases that previously were being argued in state court against EWEB and LEC after plaintiffs added BPA, moving the case to federal court.
Other Labor Day fire settlements ongoing
Kraig Arndt of Mill City takes photos of a friend’s home that burned to the ground during the Labor Day fires on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020 in Mill City, Ore.
The victims of other 2020 Labor Day fires also have sued and are currently stuck in limbo. Their lawsuit also accuses a utility (in their case PacificCorp) of starting the fire.
In June 2023, a jury found PacifiCorp negligent and grossly negligent for the Santiam, Echo Mountain, 242 and South Obenchain fires. So far, 90 fire survivors have been awarded $485 million, but victims who have been awarded money haven’t been paid yet. Another 2,000 members of the class are awaiting their day in court, at a pace of approximately 10 victims per month.
Thirty-three fire survivors identified in that verdict have died since the 2020 fires. PacificCorp is also fighting the verdict through an appeals process that likely will take years, and has argued courts should halt the settlement trials until their appeal is heard.
Alan Torres covers local government for the Register-Guard. He can be reached byemail at atorres@registerguard.com, on X @alanfryetorres or on Reddit at u/AlfrytRG.
Statesman Journal outdoors reporter Zach Urness contributed to this article.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Arguments over who started Holiday Farm Fire will soon be in court