The Portland-based federal utility is accused of gross negligence and recklessness in its handling of energy transmissions on Labor Day, Sept. 7, 2020. Critics allege BPA didn鈥檛 heed red flag warnings and failed to address 鈥渉azard trees鈥� surrounding power lines and infrastructure. The fire destroyed more than 173,000 acres and hundreds of buildings.
On Aug. 2, 2024, BPA filed a 17-page motion for the U.S. District Court to dismiss all complaints for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.
鈥淐ongress declined to waive the federal government鈥檚 sovereign immunity from the tort claims asserted here,鈥� the motion鈥檚 summary states. 鈥淭he discretionary-function exception applies to both alleged components of the fire. In the absence of a mandatory public-safety power-shutdown plan, Bonneville officials had discretion to decide whether de-energizing power lines was worth the consequences of cutting off power to communities.
鈥淎nd no policy mandated how and whether Bonneville officials were to identify and remove hazardous trees, particularly because nothing mandated how officials were to determine whether a tree was 50% or more likely to structurally fail within five years.鈥�
A couple of Blue River residents and plaintiffs in the suits against BPA spoke to KLCC, expressing their disappointment in the utility鈥檚 latest legal maneuver.
鈥淚 drive this highway every day and I still see overgrown power lines, trees that are hazards to the power lines,鈥� said Donald Dow, who lost his home and motorcycle in the Holiday Farm Fire. 鈥淪omething needs to be done. They need to be held accountable.鈥�
Dow says he was lucky to have a modular home bestowed to him by his parents, to replace the one destroyed in the fire. The retiree says he is still shaken by the devastation he sees around the McKenzie River area.
Another resident, Christiana Rainbow Plews, said she and fellow firefighters lost homes and property in September 2020. She and her sons are rebuilding, and taking heart that will signal the rebirth of their community. But like Dow, she wants BPA to be held accountable.
鈥淭hey need to start taking responsibility, taking measures to make sure this doesn鈥檛 happen again in any community,鈥� she said. 鈥淔or me, that would be the most desirable outcome.鈥�
Now retired from her role as the Upper McKenzie Rural Fire Protection District chief, Plews said she鈥檚 also a deponent in the case, and has provided the legal team extensive eyewitness testimony of the Holiday Farm Fire and its aftermath.
An expected motion
An attorney representing roughly 240 plaintiffs in one of the first lawsuits filed against BPA said he doesn鈥檛 think the utility鈥檚 motion will succeed.
Alex Robertson predicts the U.S. District Court of Oregon will reject the BPA鈥檚 argument that it鈥檚 not subject to jurisdiction in the case.
鈥淚t really has to focus on whether or not their conduct falls within one of these statutory immunities that the federal government enjoys,鈥� said Robertson. 鈥淲e do not believe that the conduct by Bonneville Power qualifies for any of those statutory immunities, and that their conduct here was grossly negligent.鈥�
Robertson says it鈥檚 not unusual for entities like BPA to file motions to dismiss, so he and other attorneys weren鈥檛 surprised when it was filed.
Two other utilities, Eugene Water & Electric Board and Lane Electric, are also defendants in the lawsuits. All have declined comment on pending litigation.
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