PacifiCorp, a utility company owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, has agreed to a $150 million settlement with 378 plaintiffs over one of the 2020 wildfires that devastated parts of Oregon and Northern California.
The settlement announced Monday essentially resolves all claims in Northern California related to the Slater Fire, which burned about 157,000 acres (63,536 hectares) in two months and crossed into Oregon before being contained.
PacifiCorp has paid more than $1 billion to settle more than 1,600 claims stemming from the Labor Day weekend wildfires with individuals and businesses in Oregon and California.
The Portland, Oregon-based utility still faces a series of legal challenges over the fires, with some victims accusing PacifiCorp of failing to shut down power lines during a windstorm.
One lawsuit seeks at least $30 billion. PacifiCorp believes that amount is excessive, but said it will continue to settle “all reasonable claims.”
The US government has also threatened to sue PacifiCorp for failure to pay $356 million in costs and damages associated with the Slater fire.
PacifiCorp is a unit of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, which is 92% owned by Berkshire Hathaway, the Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate Buffett has run since 1965.
In his Feb. 24 annual letter to Berkshire shareholders, Buffett said he had “made a costly mistake” in failing to foresee the financial risks of the wildfires.
Berkshire purchased PacifiCorp for $5.1 billion in 2006.
