Tag WILDFIRES

PacifiCorp was grossly negligent in Oregon’s 2020 wildfires. Now it’s asking lawmakers for protection.
PacifiCorp has waged a campaign, in the courts and now in the halls of the state Capitol, to reduce its financial obligation to wildfire survivors.

Lawmakers propose pause on rate hikes from utilities embroiled in wildfire lawsuits
Oregon Republicans want to ban utilities from raising rates on customers if the companies have been involved in unresolved wildfire lawsuits for three or more years.

Judge dismisses $33 million timber lawsuit against U.S. Forest Service over 2020 wildfire response
A federal judge denied Freres timber companies’ complaint that firefighters did not do everything possible to stop the spread of the Beachie Creek Fire

‘For a while, it looked like the whole world might burn’
In Oregon, grassland blazes are now sapping state resources.

Feds grant more than $9 million to Oregon for wildfire prevention
The federal government has announced millions in new funding to prevent the blazes that have blackened a record amount of acreage.

Wildfires increase mercury in Pacific Northwest headwater streams, USGS study shows
A new study from the U.S. Geological Survey looked at how wildfires impact mercury concentrations in headwater streams in Idaho, Washington and Oregon.

OHSU study finds unhealthy air quality from wildfires can affect fertility treatments
The study indicates that providers might want to delay in vitro fertilization treatments during periods of poor air quality, especially for high-risk patients, the researchers said.

Oregon on track to set new wildfire record for acreage burned
The season has likely not peaked and already 1.3 million acres have been blackened and several dozen homes destroyed.

Oregon homeowners face soaring premiums, few property insurance options over wildfires
Major insurers in central, southern and eastern Oregon have dramatically pulled back on wildfire coverage, forcing some homeowners to go to an insurer of last resort.