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Pickett Fire Reaches 41% Containment as Investigators Examine Vineyard Ashes, $65 Million Crop Losses

Cal Fire is probing whether discarded ashes at a Calistoga vineyard ignited the 6,803-acre blaze.

Smoke from the Pickett Fire billows behind a vineyard along the Silverado Trail in Calistoga, as seen on Aug. 21.
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Cal Fire crews prepare their engine as they move to engage the Pickett Fire in Pope Valley on Friday, Aug. 22.
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Overview

  • Cal Fire reported 6,803 acres burned with 41% containment Friday morning, with five structures destroyed and 187 still threatened.
  • More than 2,400 personnel, 210 engines and eight helicopters are reinforcing lines and cooling hot spots in steep terrain within the 2020 Glass Fire scar.
  • Evacuation orders and a warning remain in several zones between Calistoga and Aetna Springs as crews expect the fire to hold within existing control lines.
  • Investigators have interviewed a vineyard manager and an independent contractor from Hundred Acre Wines while assessing whether smoldering ashes were improperly discarded; no cause has been determined.
  • Napa County declared a local health emergency to enable hazardous-debris removal, and preliminary surveys estimate about $65 million in agricultural losses across roughly 1,500 acres, mostly from smoke.