PacifiCorp Expands Wildfire Monitoring with New Medford Facility

PacifiCorp has launched a Wildfire Intelligence Center in Medford, Oregon, as part of its 2025 Wildfire Mitigation Plan, aiming to enhance early fire detection and response. Since opening in May, the center has monitored 863 fires in Oregon, with 71 resulting in emergency power shutoffs. Staff track wildfire activity across PacifiCorp’s six-state service area using ALERTWest AI-enabled cameras, crowd-sourced platforms such as Watch Duty, and emergency responder channels to assess risks to company infrastructure.

While the center does not directly cut power, it alerts operations teams in Portland and Salt Lake City when conditions meet shutoff criteria. The facility also supports broader emergency monitoring, including recent international events, and is part of the company’s effort to prevent incidents like the 2020 Labor Day fires, for which PacifiCorp faces ongoing litigation.