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Oregon Department of Forestry investigators have determined that the 2020 Santiam Canyon fire was not caused by downed power lines as plaintiffs’ attorneys have alleged but rather by hot embers drifting into the canyon from the nearby Beachie Creek fire.
The report, released today to the Oregon Journalism Project under a public records request submitted in January, is a huge victory for PacifiCorp, the embattled utility that in 2023 was found by a jury to have been grossly negligent in declining to shut off power to the Santiam Canyon fire.
Department of Forestry investigators agreed with PacifiCorp attorneys, who argued in Multnomah County Circuit Court that it was hot embers from the Beachie Creek fire that started the fires.
“ODF investigators did not find any evidence that reported powerline ignitions had contributed to the overall spread of the fire in the Santiam Canyon,” the report read. “The most probable explanation for these ignitions is spot fires from the main Beachie Creek Fire, which was burning upwind of the ignitions in the Santiam Canyon.
“With a megafire, such as those that occurred prior to and through Labor Day weekend 2020, the rising heat and gases can create a large convection column that may carry fire brands away from the fire and start spot fires.”
The department did determine that downed PacifiCorp power lines started seven fires. But all were extinguished at the time by homeowners or firefighters, the report said.
The cluster of fires in the vicinity burned more than 400,000 acres and killed five. It destroyed parts of Gates and Lyons, small towns on the Santiam River. The forestry department’s own regional headquarters in Mehama was destroyed in the fire.
“The ODF’s thorough investigation, spanning many years, uncovered no evidence that any power line ignitions played a significant role in the fire’s spread in the Santiam Canyon, PacifiCorp spokesman Simon Gutierrez said. Instead, as the ODF concluded, ”There were other ignitions in the area where no roads or powerlines were present. The most probable explanation for these ignitions is spot fires from the main Beachie Creek Fire, which was burning upwind of the ignitions in the Santiam Canyon.”
“While we continue to acknowledge the tragic impact of the 2020 wildfires, ODF’s investigation provides crucial context and details that were unavailable and absent during the James trial proceedings,” Gutierrez concluded.
What this means for the James case, the massive class action lawsuit filed by local residents, is unknown. The residents won at the trial level in 2023. A jury found the company grossly negligent and reckless. In subsequent hearings to determine damages, the plaintiffs have been awarded about $6 million apiece.
But that process of determining damages is moving so slowly it could be 10 years before it’s through.
PacifiCorp has also appealed the verdict.
Cody Berne, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said new evidence cannot now be introduced at the trial level or the appeal.
“A jury of 12 Oregonians heard nearly two months of evidence,” Berne said. “The parties took dozens of under-oath depositions, gathered thousands of records, and presented experts on both sides. The jury found that PacifiCorp’s negligence was a substantial factor in burning the Santiam Canyon and even found that PacifiCorp acted willfully and recklessly, ultimately awarding punitive damages based on the evidence it saw at trial.”
The forestry department said its investigation was hampered by both the U.S. Forest Service and PacifiCorp. “ODF was unable to analyze electrical equipment and powerline hardware in the Gates/Mill City area.” the report said. “This was due to PacifiCorp and their contract crews working to repair and restore power, including the removal of damaged electrical equipment. The specific items and quantity of hardware removed is unknown; the potential evidentiary value of this equipment is unknown as well. “
The U.S. Forest Service, meanwhile, would not allow its workers to be interviewed by state investigators. Later, the department said, it had to file public records requests to the Forest Service to get certain documents.
Correction: an earlier version of this story overstated the number of fires started by PacifiCorp power lines. OJP regrets the error.
This story was produced by the Oregon Journalism Project, a nonprofit newsroom covering rural Oregon.