Roger Jarvis built his home on a wooded property northeast of Battle Ground Lake, where he and his wife enjoy a sweeping view of Mount St. Helens. But that view and the landscape around it could soon change under PacifiCorp’s plan for a new 230-kilovolt transmission line. For many residents, the bigger fear is that their homes could be lost entirely through eminent domain.
“It’s not only us. It’s multiple homes,” Jarvis said. “They’re going to mow a swath of [trees] for towers on it all the way up the mountain, right in everybody’s view of Mount St. Helens.”
The proposed power line is part of PacifiCorp’s plan to build new transmission from near Swift Reservoir to Troutdale, Oregon, to serve the growing power demand in the Portland area. Construction is projected to start in 2029 and finish by 2030, after permits are filed in 2027.
The line would not directly power homes in Clark County. Still, residents of areas surrounding Yacolt, Amboy, Battle Ground and Camas fear they will bear the cost through loss of property value, fire risk and environmental damage.
Many of those same concerns were echoed by dozens of residents during a Saturday, Nov. 8, forum at Yacolt Primary School, hosted by the community group Move the Line East. Project Manager John Aniello attended to answer questions, though he later told The Reflector he would not respond to follow-up questions, deferring to a company spokesperson who could not be reached by press time.
The most common questions centered on safety, fire danger and property rights. Residents said they worry the line will pass near homes, forestland and narrow roads that could trap people in a fire.
“What steps are you going to take to preserve the safety of our homes and property?” one resident asked.
Aniello said PacifiCorp now uses more advanced weather and monitoring systems to reduce wildfire risk.
“Construction methodologies and protection systems are modified and we also have a much more aggressive weather monitoring system that ties into our protection and relay circuits,” Aniello said.
“Lines [are] being turned off ahead of weather events,” he added. “You may see more power outages in bad weather time periods, but that’s generally what we’re doing to try to remove the risk of wildfires.”
Several residents said that reassurance does not go far enough, especially given PacifiCorp’s recent legal history. The company has agreed to pay $125 million to dozens of Oregon wineries and vineyards that sued the utility over the 2020 Labor Day wildfires. In 2023, a jury in a separate case concluded that PacifiCorp’s negligence led to property damages in the Santiam Canyon, Southern Oregon and the Oregon Coast.
Gary Ogier, who lives near Jarvis, said the potential danger feels personal. His home faces Mount St. Helens, but he said homes deeper along the route could face more severe impacts.
“Since the road is a dead end, there’s only one way out if there’s a fire,” Ogier said. “They can’t get up here. We can’t get out.”
Some residents in the easement’s path asked if their homes would be taken by way of eminent domain if necessary. Aniello confirmed the company can use eminent domain if negotiations with landowners fail.
Aniello confirmed the company can use eminent domain if negotiations with landowners fail.
“If we have no alternative and we cannot get landowners to cooperate, we would have to go through eminent domain,” he said.
He added that PacifiCorp intends to “do everything we can to avoid it,” but said rerouting may be necessary around the city of Camas, which requires underground lines. Undergrounding costs roughly 10 times more than overhead construction.
Some residents said they only learned about the easement’s existence recently, even though it dates back to the 1950s. Others said their deeds mention an easement, but they never imagined it would allow a 230-kilovolt line.
Ogier added that some landowners who bought property with the easement listed in their deeds did not expect it to carry a large-scale project.
Questions at the meeting also turned to erosion and groundwater. One attendee said local arborists warned that clearing wide paths through forestland could lead to flooding on lower properties.
“Every time you take along a swath of trees, the remaining trees on either side of it are just going to be more vulnerable to winds,” the person added.
Aniello said studies on soil stability and drainage would occur closer to construction.
“That’s what the geotechs are for, to make sure the ground’s stable,” he said. “We will aggressively look at trees outside of our easement to make sure that we haven’t threatened their integrity.”
Some attendees questioned whether the project was related to a recent complaint Amazon filed against PacifiCorp with Oregon regulators, alleging the utility had failed to meet its obligations to provide power for new data centers.
Aniello told the crowd the two issues are separate. The complaint filed on Oct. 30 came several months after the project was first proposed.
“This line is not being built to benefit Amazon directly,” he said. “The greater Portland area and outlying areas that we serve, they’re the ones that are getting that power.”
Still, several residents said the timing of the lawsuit and renewed activity around the transmission line felt connected.
Many residents said they left the forum feeling their questions were unanswered. Several asked why the company does not move the line farther east or route it through a subsidiary utility instead of directly through residential land.
“As for social responsibility, PacifiCorp’s on the hook,” John Gibson, a Move the Line East organizer said.
Aniello told residents he hopes to keep communicating as the project progresses. Since the permitting phase has not yet begun, many property owners remain in the dark on how or if their land will be affected.
