World War II veteran to testify against PacifiCorp in next phase of trial over 2020 fires

A 101-year-old World War II veteran whose home burned in the Labor Day fires.

A musician who escaped the flames by spending the night in the North Santiam River.

These are among the nine plaintiffs set to testify in court over the next two weeks against PacifiCorp in the second phase of the trial over the 2020 wildfires.

A Multnomah County jury in June 2023 found the utility at fault for the ignition and spread of four of the 2020 Labor Day wildfires and ordered PacifiCorp to pay almost $90 million to 17 original wildfire survivors.

But the jury also found PacifiCorp was negligent to a class of almost 5,000 people impacted by the Santiam, Echo Mountain, 242 and South Obenchain fires.

The amount PacifiCorp will pay to those members of the class begins with the first of three "mini trials" on Monday at Multnomah County Courthouse in Portland.

New jury to determine economic and non-economic damages

A new jury will hear from nine wildfire survivors in a trial lasting about a week and a half to determine economic and non-economic damages for plaintiffs.

The jury will not consider whether PacifiCorp is at fault, since the first jury already determined that, and will only consider how much plaintiffs deserve to be paid.

The mini trials are scheduled early this year before lawyers for plaintiffs and PacifiCorp will be required to enter into arbitration in hopes of settling the lawsuit.

PacifiCorp has objected to numerous aspects of the proceedings, both during the original trial and after the verdict. It proposed the second phase of the trial be put off entirely until it could appeal the June decision.

Multnomah County Judge Steffan Alexander, who is overseeing the case, has consistently ruled against PacifiCorp and pushed the second phase of the trial forward.

PacifiCorp filed an appeal to the Oregon Court of Appeals on Thursday, the company said in a statement, “addressing a myriad of issues stemming from the court proceeding in June 2023.”

“The 2020 wildfires were undeniably tragic,” the utility said. “PacifiCorp has settled and will continue to settle all reasonable claims for actual damages under Oregon law.”

In December, PacifiCorp agreed to a $250 million settlement with 10 timber companies to resolve a lawsuit they brought against the utility related to the Archie Creek Complex Fire in southern Oregon, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting. The utility also agreed to pay out $299 million to settle a lawsuit from southern Oregon residents who lost homes and property in the same fire. That fire is not part of this lawsuit.

Plaintiffs with dramatic stories to tell

Some of the most dramatic stories from the Labor Day fires will come from plaintiffs taking the stand over the coming week.

Among them is Frank King, 101, a World War II veteran and a former coastal correspondent for the Statesman Journal. King lost the home he’d lived in since 1990 when it was destroyed in the Echo Mountain Fire in the Otis area near Lincoln City.

“We were watching the fire as it came toward us,” King told Oregon Coast Today. “We knew it was time to go when we saw the transformer blow up. There were 12 family members here and at the house next door that I bought for my son. So all 12 of us evacuated together; five generations of us.”

Another plaintiff is Scott Johnson, 68, of Gates, who woke up to flames surrounding his house and escaped with his wife and their cat, Tuku, by jumping off a cliff into the North Santiam River, where they spent the night. Their house was lost in the fire.

The couple, both musicians, sang a song with the lyrics “humble yourself in the sight of fire” as flames surrounded them during the night, according to an interview with NPR.

Both will testify during the mini trial that begins Monday.

Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 15 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast. Urness is the author of “Best Hikes with Kids: Oregon” and “Hiking Southern Oregon.” He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on Twitter at @ZachsORoutdoors.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: World War II vet to testify against PacifiCorp over 2020 wildfires