March 5 (Reuters) - An Oregon state jury on Tuesday

ordered Berkshire Hathaway's ( BRK/A ) PacifiCorp ( PPWLM ) to pay at least

$29.2 million to nine homeowners and a summer camp whose

properties were damaged by 2020 wildfires they claim were

sparked when the Oregon utility failed to shut off its power

lines during high winds.

The verdict came in a trial that kicked off on Feb. 27 in

Multnomah County Circuit Court in Portland, where PacifiCorp ( PPWLM ) is

based.

The trial, which Reuters viewed via the Courtroom View

Network, was the second of at least three scheduled this year to

serve as test cases to determine how much PacifiCorp ( PPWLM ) owes Oregon

residents and business owners, whose homes and properties were

ravaged by a series of fires that torched parts of the state

over Labor Day weekend in 2020, causing nearly $1.9 billion in

property damage and other harms, according to a state estimate.

The company could face billions of dollars in liability to

compensate homeowners and business owners who claim the fires

damaged approximately 2,400 properties across the state. The

victims claimed in their 2020 class action that PacifiCorp ( PPWLM ) had a

duty to safely operate its electrical equipment, but negligently

failed to shut it off.

The company has said it is appealing previous verdicts

against it. It said in a statement on Tuesday that it has

settled separate claims related to the fires, and will continue

to settle other "reasonable" claims as well.

"Wildfires pose a catastrophic threat to communities, and

require holistic solutions involving businesses, governments and

other key stakeholders working together to design and implement

enduring solutions for all Oregonians," the company said.

A separate jury last year already determined PacifiCorp ( PPWLM ) was

liable for the fires, finding the company was grossly negligent

when it failed to shut down power lines that sparked during high

winds and set off fires across the state. That trial involved 17

people whose homes or properties were damaged, but the liability

findings apply to all the plaintiffs in the class action.

The jury also set punitive damages, which are damages

reserved for defendants whose behavior is deemed particularly

egregious, at 25% of compensatory damages. That finding also

applies to all of the plaintiffs, which should boost their

overall recovery.

The award from Tuesday's verdict will exceed $42 million

once punitive damages and other post-trial additions are made,

attorneys who represented the plaintiffs said in a statement.

In January, another jury ordered PacifiCorp ( PPWLM ) to pay at least

$62 million to nine homeowners whose properties were damaged by

the wildfires.

The company has defended its fire-prevention efforts, saying

power shutoffs were not necessary based on what it knew. It has

also said the plaintiffs did not establish that its equipment

was to blame for the wildfires.

Wildfires throughout Oregon in 2020 burned approximately

1,900 square miles (1.22 million acres), destroying an estimated

5,000 or more structures and killing at least nine people.

The U.S. government has also threatened to sue the company

over natural resources damages and fire suppression costs

associated with the 2020 Slater wildfire in southern Oregon and

northern California.