Heat Dome Disaster: U.S. County Sues Oil Companies For $51 Billion

A county in the northwestern state of Oregon has filed a lawsuit against major fossil fuel companies seeking more than $51 billion over the 2021 “Heat Dome,” one of the United States’ deadliest weather-related disasters.

Multnomah County, which encompasses the state’s most populous city Portland, said combined historic carbon pollution from use of the companies’ products — and their decision to mislead the public about their impacts — was a big factor in exacerbating the heat wave.

The county is asking for $50 million in current damages from the Heat Dome, and $1.5 billion for future damages as extreme heat, drought, wildfires, and smoky skies become more common.

It also wants a much larger sum — $50 billion — for a longer term “abatement fund” to upgrade and “climatize” the county’s infrastructure.

The record-breaking heat wave baked the western United States and Canada from late June to mid-July 2021, causing a peak temperature of 121.3 degrees Fahrenheit (49.6 degrees Celsius) in Lytton, British Columbia and leading to an estimated 1,400 deaths.

A peer-reviewed analysis by the World Weather Attribution group said the phenomenon would have been “virtually impossible” without human-caused climate change.

Global warming combined with a dense high-pressure system that hovered over the Pacific Northwest to create a convection-oven effect over the normally mild region.