The Department of Justice alleges that PacifiCorp’s failure to maintain its power line equipment caused the 2020 Archie Creek Fire that burned over 131,000 acres and resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in damages to government property, according to a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for Oregon on Dec. 19.
The government claims PacifiCorp did not take proper safety precautions to mitigate wildfire risks in violation of a license granted to the company by FERC, which allows the utility to operate power lines on federal land.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office seeks costs and damages associated with the fire.
The Archie Creek Fire burned for nearly eight weeks between Sept. 8, 2020, and Oct. 31, 2020. The fire consumed approximately 131,000 acres, including over 67,000 acres of federal land. The complaint does not specify how much the fire cost the government but notes costs amounted “to hundreds of millions of dollars,” according to the suit.
“During the approximately six weeks it burned, the Archie Creek Fire caused significant damage to federally owned and managed forest lands, timber, natural resources, wildlife habitat, trails, roads, bridges, campgrounds, and other infrastructure,” the government contends. “The United States incurred substantial suppression costs, reforestation and restoration costs, stabilization costs, and suffered devastating infrastructure and other damages, including without limitation ruined wildlife habitat, natural resource destruction and timber loss.”
PacifiCorp spokesperson Simon Gutierrez told RTO Insider in an email that the utility has cooperated with the government to resolve claims associated with the Archie Creek Fire.
“It is unfortunate the U.S. government decided to file a lawsuit in federal district court, however PacifiCorp will continue to work with the U.S. government to find reasonable resolution of this matter,” Gutierrez wrote.
Specifically, the suit claims PacifiCorp failed to take necessary precautions despite warnings issued by the National Weather Service about elevated fire risk dangers. The Archie Creek Fire ignited after an aluminum Ampact wedge connector melted. The government alleges the same type of connector was behind previous fires along transmission line equipment owned by PacifiCorp.
Shortly after the fire started, PacifiCorp reenergized a distribution line in a rural residential area while a tree was leaning on the line. The tree became engulfed in flames, and the fire quickly spread and merged into the Archie Creek Fire, according to the suit.
The complaint also details allegations from the Oregon Public Utilities Commission and FERC, claiming PacifiCorp “committed upwards of 250 vegetation clearance violations annually” in the years leading up to the Archie Creek Fire.
Similarly, following an investigation launched after a 2012 Utah fire, FERC claimed at least 45% of PacifiCorp’s transmission lines “were so poorly maintained or obsolete that they should not have carried any electrical current,” according to the suit. (See PacifiCorp Faces $42 Million Penalty for Line Misratings.)
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon declined to comment.
