Residents of Gates, Oregon, aim their ire at Pacific Power nearly a year after their town burned

Gates residents reported seeing down power lines and fires along the side of the road as they were evacuating on Sept. 7, 2020.

Photo by Dave Ewing, Published by OPB

In July 2021, residents of the town of Gates, Oregon were still grieving the loss of their homes and businesses that were destroyed by wildfires the previous year. Many residents blamed Pacific Power, a utility company that provides electricity to much of the Santiam Canyon, for the fires. They alleged that Pacific Power failed to take steps to prevent downed power lines from sparking fires, and that the company was negligent in its maintenance of its infrastructure.

A class-action lawsuit was filed against Pacific Power by Gates residents. The lawsuit alleged that Pacific Power was aware of the high winds that were forecast for the day of the fires, but that the company did not take any steps to de-energize power lines or clear vegetation from around power lines. The lawsuit also alleged that Pacific Power failed to properly inspect and maintain its infrastructure, which led to downed power lines that sparked the fires.

OPB wrote a hard hitting article about this, click the link below to read.