"This is an event that is directly attributed to the impacts that we are seeing on our climate because of the actions of fossil fuel companies and their agencies that have been pressing for decades to deny climate science," County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson told the AFP.

Multnomah County and other parts of Oregon were trapped under hot air from June 24-29. For two days, temperatures were above 90 degrees and for three days, they topped 100. Portland hit a high of 116 degrees during the heat event. 

“The climate crisis is already costing us money today," said county chair Jessica Vega Pederson. "We are not looking for a payout. We're looking to be paid back."

“We are confident that, once we show what the fossil fuel companies knew about global warming and when, and what they did to deny, delay and deceive the public, the jury will not let the fossil fuel companies get away with their reckless misconduct,” Worthington said.

“While other communities are seeking to hold Big Oil accountable for the costs of hurricanes, rising seas, and wildfires, Multnomah County is the first to demand that oil companies stand trial for fueling the devastating 2021 heat dome,” said Richard Wiles, the president of the Center for Climate Integrity, in a statement. “Communities should not be forced to pay the price for these catastrophic climate damages while the companies that caused the crisis perpetuate their lies and rake in record profits.”

The 2021 event, which lasted from June 24 through 29, 2021, saw temperatures in Portland reach an unprecedented high of 116 degrees. The remarkable heat event resulted in the deaths of 69 people in Multnomah County due to hyperthermia—with loss of life taking place throughout the entire Pacific Northwest. 

On Thursday, Multnomah County sued many of the biggest producers of coal and fossil fuels in an effort to hold them liable for losses from the deadly 2021 PNW heat dome.

“What is new about this case,” explained attorney Roger Worthington, “is how the leadership of Multnomah County is utilizing irrefutable climate science to hold corporate polluters accountable for their role in causing a discreet and disastrous event, as well as recent wildfires.”