New PacifiCorp center in Southern Oregon watches for wildfires before they threaten communities

PacifiCorp has opened a wildfire monitoring center in Medford, Oregon, as part of its 2025 Wildfire Mitigation Plan.

PacifiCorp spokesperson Simon Gutierrez said staff have monitored 863 fires across the state since the center opened May 3. Of those, 71 led to emergency power shutoffs.

In 2023, a jury found PacifiCorp negligent for failing to shut off power during a 2020 windstorm, despite warnings from fire officials. The company was ordered to pay more than $73 million to plaintiffs affected by the Labor Day fires.

The center’s goal is to prevent similar disasters through earlier wildfire detection.

Related: PacifiCorp appeals class action ruling over 2020 Oregon wildfires

Staff monitor a range of sources — from crowd-sourced apps like Watch Duty to emergency responder communications — to assess active wildfires. Specialists use wildfire cameras across PacifiCorp’s six-state service area to track proximity to the company’s infrastructure.

Zylon De La Torre, an emergency response specialist, said he uses public data and live camera feeds to estimate fire locations before field teams arrive.

“If the fire is going to be a problem for us, sometimes we can see our electrical assets in the vicinity,” De La Torre said.

While staff at the center don’t shut off power directly, they notify PacifiCorp offices in Portland and Salt Lake City when conditions meet the utility’s criteria for de-energizing lines. Final decisions are made by system operators at those offices.

“If we have a fire that initiates directly below our equipment, that’s something we have to respond to very quickly,” Gutierrez said.

“But if it’s a fire that’s off in the distance, obviously we’ll be in more of a monitoring mode where we can take a look at it, see which way the wind’s going, communicate with first responders, decide whether it’s a risk or not.”

Related: Oregon fire officials say PacifiCorp didn’t cause Santiam Fire, contradicting federal reports, jury decision

The wildfire intelligence center uses cameras equipped with artificial intelligence to spot signs of smoke, but the technology can’t distinguish between a wildfire, a car fire or a dust plume from a nearby farm, De La Torre said.

That’s where staff come in — to confirm what’s actually burning.

Though the center primarily focuses on wildfires, it also monitors other emergencies. Center manager Nick Linfoot said the team provided “situational awareness” during the 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Russia.

PacifiCorp has appealed the judgement of the class action lawsuit and is scheduled to return to court for damages trials in February 2026.

Emma J Nelson is a reporter with Jefferson Public Radio. This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.

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