Pickett Fire burns 4,000 acres, 7 percent contained
Firefighters on Friday continued to battle the Pickett Fire near Calistoga. As of Friday
evening, the blaze had burned nearly 4,000 acres, according to Cal Fire.
The wildfire, which has been burning in steep terrain, was 7 percent contained, Cal Fire
reported at about 8:30 p.m. Friday. The fire has been moving away from Calistoga and
toward Aetna Springs in Pope Valley, Jason Clay, PIO with Cal Fire’s Sonoma-Lake-
Napa Unit, said at around 7 p.m.
Fire activity had picked up over the past few hours, Clay said. For that reason, he
anticipated the next map to show that the size of the fire had increased once again.
More than 430 firefighters were assigned to the Pickett Fire as of Friday afternoon,
according to Cal Fire. No injuries have been reported.
The fire started a little before 3 p.m. Thursday in the Pickett Road area. A number of
wineries are nearby, including Kenefick Ranch Vineyard and Winery, Eisele Vineyard
and Kelly Fleming Wines.
The fire prompted a number of evacuation orders east of the Silverado Trail. On Friday,
authorities issued additional evacuation orders.
These zones are: NPA-E114, NPA-E115, NPA-E120 and NPA-E121-B.
Clay urged the public to know their evacuation zone and stay aware of what is
happening.
In the meantime, Cal Fire expects more firefighting resources to arrive.
Firefighting resources include: 75 engines, eight helicopters, eight hand crews, 15
bulldozers and 10 water tenders.
Napa County Supervisor Anne Cottrell, who represents the area, on Friday said she has
a lot of confidence in the response.
Alan Viader, director of operations and winemaking at Viader Vineyards and a volunteer
firefighter assigned to the fire, said in a Facebook post on Friday, that the past 24 hours
battling the Pickett Fire “has been incredibly hard work.”
“Steep, rugged, rocky terrain in heavy fuels and in 100 F temps!” Viader wrote.
“Thankful for the hundreds of resources out there putting in the work to keep our
community safe!”
In the meantime, businesses in Calistoga have remained open. The evacuation shelter set up at CrossWalk Community Church in Napa on Thursday was set to close at 8 p.m. Friday because no evacuees were there, according to Cal Fire.
