Jefferson County ranching couple sue Central Electric Cooperative for over $10 million, blaming utility for Cram Fire
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A Jefferson County ranching couple has sued Central Electric Cooperative for more than $10 million, claiming the utility’s negligence and failure to shut down power lines amid dry conditions and severe fire risk sparked last summer’s destructive, 95,000-acre Cram Fire.
A Portland attorney for Ronald and Debra Dees, who own and operate The RiverD Ranch, filed the personal injury and property damage lawsuit on Monday in Deschutes County Circuit Court, since Central Electric Co-Op is based in Redmond.
The 22-page lawsuit, which you can read below, alleges the fire was ignited last July 13 when a 12-kilovolt CEC power line was downed, igniting nearby brush and vegetation. Amid hot and dry conditions and strong winds, the fire spread quickly to become the largest in the U.S. for a time and the biggest in the Pacific Northwest last year.
“Despite the high risk of wildfires, defendant CEC negligently and recklessly failed to properly maintain its equipment, including power lines ... that (they) kept energized,” the lawsuit claims.
The couple says they and others saw the downed power line, near Highway 97 and NE Pony Butte Road in Willowdale, and their power went out just before they saw the flames approaching their home and buildings. The fire eventually destroyed two homes and 16 other structures.
The lawsuit claims CEC breached its duties in several ways, including not adequately inspecting, maintaining and removing overgrown vegetation near its power lines.
While the Cram Fire was early on found to be human-caused, an official determination of the exact cause is still pending, as a CEC representative noted in a brief response, when KTVZ News asked for their reaction to the lawsuit.
"CEC is aware of the filing, and as the Cram Fire is currently under investigation, we are unable to comment at this time," said Brent ten Pas, vice president of member and public relations.
The new lawsuit comes amid several individual and class-action lawsuits against the region's utilities over their alleged roles in sparking major wildfires.
Just days ago, PacifiCorp, Pacific Power's parent company, reached a $575 million settlement with the federal government to resolve all known federal claims for damages from several large wildfires.
A Multnomah County jury on Wednesday awarded $305 million in damages to 16 survivors of Oregon's 2020 Labor Day weekend wildfires, in a class-action lawsuit against PacifiCorp. Three years ago, a jury found the utility grossly negligent and reckless for failing to shut down power amid a severe windstorm, causing four catastrophic blazes, The Oregonian/Oregon Live reported.
