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PacifiCorp Reaches $575 Million Settlement With Federal Government Over Major Wildfires in Oregon and California Business By Diane Megaw On Feb 21, 2026 PacifiCorp confirmed yesterday that the utility agreed to pay $575 million to resolve the United States’ claims for damages resulting from six wildfires in Oregon and California in 2020 and 2022. Tidings Data Snapshot Federal Wildfire Settlement By The Numbers $575M Amount PacifiCorp agreed to pay to resolve federal claims 6 Wildfires covered in Oregon and California $900M+ Federal damages sought before settlement, per reporting 50%+ Share of U.S. Forest Service budget now going to wildfire suppression Source: U.S. Department of Justice settlement announcement dated Feb. 20, 2026 plus Reuters reporting on the federal claim amount Dailytidings.com PacifiCorp Settles More 2020 Oregon Wildfire Claims Following the last settlement reached in November last year, when PacifiCorp settled for $150 Million to over 1,400 Oregon wildfire victims , the utility company has now settlement claims from four other fires in Oregon that the United States claimed were negligently started by PacifiCorp’s electrical lines: 7, 2020, 242 Fire near Chiloquin that burned 8,916 acres of federal land; 7, 2020, Echo Mountain Complex Fire near Otis, Oregon, that burned approximately 2,500 acres, including federal land; 8, 2020, Archie Creek Fire near French Creek in the Umpqua National Forest that burned 67,000 acres of federal land; 8, 2020, South Obenchain Fire east of Eagle Point that burned 14,780 acres of federal land. Two California fires also settled in the same claim were the Sept. 8, 2020, Slater Fire on Slater Butte National Forest lands within the Klamath National Forest, burning 157,229 acres of federal land, and the July 29, 2022, McKinney Fire on land next to the Klamath National Forest, burning 39,000 acres of federal land. Fire Start date State Federal land acres cited Federal units named 242 Fire Sept. 7, 2020 Oregon 8,916 Federal land Echo Mountain Complex Fire Sept. 7, 2020 Oregon about 2,500 Federal land included Archie Creek Fire Sept. 8, 2020 Oregon 67,000 Umpqua National Forest South Obenchain Fire Sept. 8, 2020 Oregon 14,780 Federal land Slater Fire Sept. 8, 2020 California 157,229 Klamath / Six Rivers / Rogue River Siskiyou National Forests McKinney Fire July 29, 2022 California 39,000 Klamath National Forest area Funds from the settlement will help repay the United States for firefighting, and will also be distributed to the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to restore some of the 290,000 acres of public land that were burned. PacifiCorp continues to deny liability for these fires, and the claims resolved by this settlement are allegations only. No liability has been determined. Southern Oregon Wildfire Share Twitter Facebook ReddIt WhatsApp Pinterest Email