A fast-moving wildfire near Calistoga grew to more than 3,235 acres Friday afternoon, threatening several well-known Napa Valley wineries and triggering evacuation orders in rural parts of the county as crews worked to contain the flames.
The Pickett Fire, reported shortly before 3 p.m. Thursday on the 2300 block of Pickett Road, grew quickly in steep terrain south of Mount St. Helena.
The blaze doubled in size overnight and was about 7% contained, Cal Fire said. The cause remained under investigation.
“That 1,102 acres of growth from when it was last mapped on Thursday night can be attributed to the fire backing to strategic fuel breaks and historical control lines,” Cal Fire officials said in an update. “There has been no new threat to structures on Friday.”
Even as evacuation orders remained in place, Cal Fire Operations Chief Jeremy Pierce said Friday afternoon that crews had a good handle on the blaze’s behavior and that spread was trending away from neighborhoods.
“So far, although the fire was very aggressive yesterday and it put up a large column... today the fire is a much different fire, and we do have crews and aircraft in place,” Pierce said. “And we’re hoping to keep it in check during the heat of the day.”
He added that the fire was largely burning within the 2020 Glass Fire scar that affected Angwin and Deer Park; unlike that wind-driven event, this was a slope- and fuels-driven fire, which crews were better positioned to manage.
Cal Fire spokesperson Jason Clay added that several factors were working in their favor.
California’s new night-flying helicopters worked throughout the night. Temperatures had dropped by at least 10 degrees and the humidity rose. The fire was still burning in the hills to the east of the valley — but had so far kept away from populated areas.
Several prominent wineries were within the evacuation area, including Eisele Vineyard Estate, Kelly Fleming Wines, Kenefick Ranch, Venge Vineyards and Phifer Pavitt Family Vineyards — a cluster that sustained significant damage during the Glass Fire and has since rebuilt or repaired facilities.
Vintner Jayson Woodbridge — whose Hundred Acre winery and newly acquired Fleming Vineyards sit near the ignition area along Pickett Road — said his team defended the properties and reported no damage.
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“I manned the hoses since yesterday afternoon and we stood guard all night,” Woodbridge wrote in a text message Friday morning. “The forest is obviously burned, and it’s a large fire. No damage to the winery, no damage to the house. Hundreds and hundreds of firemen deployed, doing a great job. ... No idea how the fire started except it was 105 degrees yesterday and blowing about 15-20 mph.”
Cal Fire urged residents to leave promptly.
“Immediate threat to life. This is a lawful order to LEAVE NOW,” the agency said, advising people with pets, livestock or special needs to depart quickly.
Sheltering shifted during the response: The Calistoga Community Center opened Thursday before county officials directed evacuees to overnight shelter at Crosswalk Community Church in Napa.
Smoke was visible for miles across the valley, including from Highway 128, though no major road closures were reported.
Crews worked in hot, dry conditions with southwest winds around 10 mph. More than 215 personnel were assigned, supported by 28 engines, six hand crews, four bulldozers, three water tenders, three helicopters, four air tankers and one air tactical aircraft.
Fixed-wing planes were released after nightfall Thursday, while three night-flying helicopters continued water drops.
By late Friday morning, Cal Fire said dozers had reopened fire access roads and cut contingency lines, aided by past fire footprints and recently reestablished Napa Firewise dozer lines. Access remained difficult in remote, sparsely populated terrain.
Mike Wilson, director of fuels management for the Napa Community Firewise Foundation, said recent mitigation work and strong resource availability put crews in a better position heading into the weekend.
“Within the next couple days, you’ll start seeing a percentage of containment,” said Wilson, whose nonprofit prepares Napa Valley for wildfire.
Before the Pickett Fire began, his team cleared access roads in Angwin and nearby areas; on Friday, Cal Fire used one of Firewise’s utility vehicles to cut additional fire lines near Pope Valley and Ink Grade roads.
“This is the only large fire in this part of Northern California, so the engines, the crews, the dozers are all available,” Wilson said.
He credited property owners for clearing flammable debris and added,
“We’re more prepared than in 2020,” he said.
With temperatures forecast to reach the upper 90s, officials said additional resources were arriving. The North Bay All-Hazard Incident Management Team was activated to assist operations.
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District issued an advisory saying smoke from the Pickett Fire could drift into parts of Napa, Sonoma and Solano counties through Saturday.
Officials cautioned that even when federal health standards are not exceeded, wildfire smoke can irritate the lungs and eyes and pose higher risks for children, older adults and those with respiratory conditions.
With harvest underway in Napa Valley, winemakers weighed the risk of smoke taint as the fire burned.
In Pope Valley east of Angwin, the air was lightly smoky Friday afternoon, said Cary Gott, winemaker at Calla Lily Estate & Winery. He said he was monitoring conditions but was not yet overly concerned about effects on Calla Lily’s crop.
Elsewhere in the valley, “it’s clear blue skies,” Gott said.
The Pickett Fire started the same day crews in neighboring Lake County contained the McKinley Fire, which burned four acres north of Middletown (Lake County).
Crews planned to continue suppression on Friday with additional air and ground resources as containment work progressed.
Esther Mobley, Greg Porter, Anthony Edwards, Harsha Devulapalli and Jessica Flores contributed to this report.
Editor’s note: This story was updated to remove Sterling Vineyards from the list of wineries within the fire evacuation zone.
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