Containment of California's Pickett Fire in Napa County grows slightly; overnight weather helps firefight
More than 2,000 fire personnel were working the Pickett Fire in California's Napa County, burning for a sixth day as weather conditions turned favorable overnight Tuesday.
According to Cal Fire, the fire has burned 6,803 acres and was 21% contained as of 8:45 p.m. Tuesday. Evacuation orders and warnings remain in effect for the fire.
In an update on Tuesday morning, Cal Fire said a marine layer moved into the fire area overnight, raising the humidity and helping firefighters as they continued to work on containment efforts and mop-up operations. The fire perimeter remains mostly within the footprint of the 2020 Glass Fire, which burned 67,000 acres in Napa and Sonoma counties, Cal Fire said
Large fuels inside the perimeter will continue to burn and smolder, causing visible smoke over the fire area on Tuesday, the agency said. Seasonal weather conditions were expected to persist through this week.
Napa County issued a local health emergency on Monday due to debris from the Pickett Fire.
"Debris from the fast-moving fire can become hazardous waste that impacts local watershed areas, and thus a threat to public health," the county said.
In a video update posted Monday afternoon, Deputy Operations Chief Steve Chapman said, "No large real fire growth in the last 24 hours, the fire footprint remains much of the same."
Chapman added that crews on Sunday cut out a spot to land a helicopter in the area above Calistoga.
"To get them into the area they're going to be working in more quickly and efficiently," he said.
The agency's Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit posted on social media Monday morning video of the Boggs Mountain Helitrack Crew being deployed into a remote area.
"There are 2,045 personnel assigned to the incident Monday. Crews will be focused on reinforcing direct control lines and constructing secondary control lines," the agency said.
Among the resources assigned include 10 helicopters, 205 engines, 67 dozers, 23 water tenders and 53 crews.
While some evacuations were lifted Sunday, evacuation orders remained in effect for the following zones as of Tuesday morning. Residents can find their evacuation zones at protect.genasys.com.
- NPA-E107-B
- NPA-E108-A
- NPA-E114
- NPA-E115
- NPA-E121-B
- NPA-E121-C
- NPA-E122-B
- POP-E001-B
- POP-E002-C
Meanwhile, evacuation warnings were in effect for these zones:
- NPA-E107-A
- NPA-E120
- NPA-E121-A
- NPA-E122-A
- POP-E001-A
- POP-E002-B
The Pickett Fire started just before 3 p.m. Thursday in the area of Pickett Road northeast of Kenefick Ranch Vineyard and Winery, outside Calistoga city limits.
No injuries have been reported. The fire threatens at least 615 structures, but none have been destroyed as of Tuesday morning.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.