June 3 (Reuters) - PacifiCorp ( PPWLM ), a utility owned by

billionaire Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway ( BRK/A ), said

on Monday it agreed to pay $178 million to resolve claims by 403

plaintiffs arising from two Oregon wildfires in 2020.

PacifiCorp ( PPWLM ) now settled nearly 1,500 claims arising from the

Labor Day weekend fires with individuals and businesses in

Oregon and northern California.

The latest settlements cover victims of the Beachie Creek

and Echo Mountain Complex fires in northwestern Oregon.

PacifiCorp ( PPWLM ) said the "vast majority" of plaintiffs opted out

of class-action litigation where other plaintiffs are seeking at

least $30 billion.

The Portland, Oregon utility views that amount as excessive,

but plans to continue settling "all reasonable claims."

It has agreed to pay more than $900 million to wildfire

victims, and through March 31 had $2.4 billion of projected

losses. Victims blame PacifiCorp ( PPWLM ) for failing to shut down power

lines during a windstorm.

Ryan Flynn, president of PacifiCorp's ( PPWLM ) Pacific Power unit,

said he hoped the latest settlements will provide "some closure"

to plaintiffs.

George McCoy, a lawyer at Warren Allen representing the

settling plaintiffs, said the accord provides "meaningful

compensation" and lets victims "rebuild and recover from these

traumatic events."

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

92% owned by Berkshire Hathaway ( BRK/A ), the Omaha, Nebraska-based

conglomerate run by Buffett since 1965.

Buffett said in his annual letter to Berkshire shareholders

on Feb. 24 that he "made a costly mistake" in not anticipating

the financial risks from wildfires.

Greg Abel, Buffett's expected successor as chief executive,

said at Berkshire's annual meeting on May 4 that PacifiCorp ( PPWLM ) will

continue challenging "unfounded" wildfire litigation, and that

legislative and regulatory reform to help utilities was needed.