April 30 (Reuters) - A utility owned by Warren Buffett's

Berkshire Hathaway ( BRK/A ) faces $30 billion of new claims

blaming it for causing Oregon wildfires in 2020, nearly four

times the maximum loss it had projected.

One thousand victims filed claims against the PacifiCorp ( PPWLM )

utility on Monday in a state court in Portland.

Victims are each seeking up to $5 million for actual losses

such as property damage, and up to $25 million for non-economic

losses such as emotional distress.

The claimants were added to litigation where a jury last

June ordered PacifiCorp ( PPWLM ) to pay $90 million to 17 claimants for

gross negligence over its failure to shut down power lines

during a Labor Day windstorm.

PacifiCorp ( PPWLM ) is appealing. Through late February, the

Portland-based utility had paid $735 million to settle wildfire

claims by several hundred people and 10 timber companies.

In a statement on Tuesday, PacifiCorp ( PPWLM ) said it had settled

more than 1,000 Oregon wildfire claims and it would continue

resolving reasonable claims under that state's law.

It also said excessive claims posed an "ominous risk" to

future investments in states that expose utilities to becoming

"de facto insurers of last resort" as extreme weather becomes

more prevalent.

"The $30 million demand for each plaintiff clearly

demonstrates the need for some manner of reform in the legal

process," PacifiCorp ( PPWLM ) said.

PacifiCorp ( PPWLM ) is a unit of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, which is

92% owned by Buffett's conglomerate.

The claims were filed two months after Buffett warned in his

annual shareholder letter that wildfires could threaten the

survival of utilities in a few states, an outcome he had not

anticipated.

Buffett singled out California's Pacific Gas & Electric

, which filed for bankruptcy in 2019, and Hawaiian

Electric, which faces many lawsuits over last August's

wildfires in Maui.

Berkshire ended 2023 with $2.4 billion of projected wildfire

losses, and has said they could grow to $8 billion.

The federal government is seeking nearly $1 billion from

PacifiCorp ( PPWLM ) to cover costs of multiple wildfires in Oregon and

Northern California, and has threatened a lawsuit.

Berkshire bought PacifiCorp ( PPWLM ) for $5.1 billion in 2006.

The case is Henson et al v PacifiCorp ( PPWLM ) et al, Oregon Circuit

Court, Multnomah County, No. 20CV33885.