Oregon wildfire survivors have no single "PacifiCorp settlement" to file a claim against right now — they have three separate legal tracks, and the one most residents are owed money through is currently frozen. A federal $575 million settlement pays for land restoration and firefighting costs, not resident losses; a 2023 class action verdict and later jury awards total more than $1 billion for individual survivors, but that money is on hold pending an Oregon Supreme Court ruling; and a separate group of opt-out plaintiffs already collected $178 million in 2024. Each track has different eligibility, a different payer, and a different timeline. Understanding which one applies determines whether a resident has anything to claim today, or is waiting on a court decision before any claim can be paid.
Official resources:
- Read the official guidance from Justice — Use this primary source to verify the official guidance.
- Read the official notice from Opb — Use this primary source to verify the official announcement.
Table of Contents
- The $575 Million Federal Settlement Does Not Pay Residents
- The Class Action Verdicts — Why the Awards Exceed $1 Billion
- Why Awarded Money Isn't Being Paid Out Yet
- The $178 Million Settlement for Residents Who Opted Out
- What Oregon Residents Can Do Right Now
- Frequently Asked Questions
The $575 Million Federal Settlement Does Not Pay Residents
On Feb. 20, 2026, PacifiCorp agreed to pay $575 million to resolve claims brought by the U.S. government over six wildfires in California and Oregon, without admitting fault, according to the Department of Justice announcement.
Four of those six fires burned in Oregon: the 242 Fire, the Archie Creek Fire, the Echo Mountain Complex, and the South Obenchain Fire, per the same DOJ release. That money reimburses the federal government for firefighting costs and funds restoration of burned public land. No portion of it is distributed to Oregon homeowners, renters, or business owners who lost property. A resident looking for personal compensation needs one of the other two tracks below.
The Class Action Verdicts — Why the Awards Exceed $1 Billion
A separate case grew out of the same September 2020 Labor Day fires. A Multnomah County jury found PacifiCorp liable to a certified class of Oregon residents in 2023 for failing to cut power during a windstorm despite warnings from fire officials, according to KPTV's coverage of the case. That liability finding opened the door to a series of damages trials for individual class members.
The most recent of those trials, on Feb. 25, 2026, resulted in a $305 million award to 16 class members whose property burned in the Santiam Canyon fire — the largest single damages verdict in the case so far, KPTV reported. Across the full series of trials, juries had ordered PacifiCorp to pay survivors more than $1 billion by early 2026, with more than 1,000 remaining class members still waiting for their own trials, scheduled through 2026 and 2027, per the same report. Class membership in this case is tied to property damage from the 2020 fires covered by the certified class, not to the six fires in the federal settlement above.
Why Awarded Money Isn't Being Paid Out Yet
On April 8, 2026, an Oregon Court of Appeals panel reversed the underlying class verdict on a procedural flaw, putting roughly $2.2 billion in awarded survivor payments on hold and at risk of being voided entirely, according to OPB's reporting. That reversal applies to the jury awards described above, including the $305 million Santiam Canyon verdict. The reversal has drawn its own controversy. Survivors' attorneys asked the Oregon Supreme Court to take the case after learning that Judge Anna Joyce, who wrote the reversal, had worked as a private attorney for PacifiCorp for six years before her 2022 judicial appointment and had not disclosed that history; she declined to recuse herself, OPB reported separately.
The Oregon Supreme Court agreed to hear the case on an expedited schedule, with oral arguments set for Nov. 3, 2026. PacifiCorp has said it expects the Court of Appeals reversal to stand, per OPB. Until the Supreme Court rules, class members with existing jury awards cannot collect them.
The $178 Million Settlement for Residents Who Opted Out
Not every Oregon resident affected by the 2020 fires is part of the frozen class action. More than 400 plaintiffs chose to opt out of the class and sue PacifiCorp individually, and in June 2024 the company agreed to pay them $178 million to settle those claims, the Associated Press reported.
That settlement was negotiated and resolved on its own track, separate from the class case now before the Oregon Supreme Court, and was not affected by the April 2026 appellate reversal. For a resident weighing options after a wildfire loss, the opt-out route is the one that has already produced a finished, paid settlement rather than an award still tied up in appeal.
What Oregon Residents Can Do Right Now
.
- Confirm whether a property loss falls within the certified class from the 2020 Labor Day fires — that is the group whose awards are currently frozen, not the fires covered by the federal $575 million settlement.
- If already part of the class with an awarded verdict, expect no payment until the Oregon Supreme Court rules after the Nov. 3, 2026 oral arguments.
- If eligible to sue individually rather than through the class, note that the $178 million opt-out settlement shows PacifiCorp has resolved claims on that separate track before, independent of the class case's outcome.
- Track the outcome of the Supreme Court's review before assuming any class award is collectible, since PacifiCorp has stated publicly that it expects the reversal to hold.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the $575 million federal settlement pay Oregon wildfire victims directly?
No. It reimburses federal firefighting costs and funds land restoration, not resident property losses, per the DOJ announcement.
Can Oregon class members collect their jury-awarded damages now?
No. Payment is frozen after an Oregon Court of Appeals reversal in April 2026, pending the Oregon Supreme Court's review with oral arguments on Nov. 3, 2026, according to OPB.
Is the $178 million opt-out settlement still available to new claimants?
That settlement, reached in June 2024, resolved claims for the more than 400 plaintiffs who had already opted out and sued individually at that time, per the Associated Press.