The more than 68-hundred-acre Pickett Fire near Calistoga is now 33 percent contained. Several mandatory evacuation orders remain in place for the fire, which is now a week old. Cal Fire says wind gusts increased to about 20-miles-per-hour on Wednesday. The fire did not grow in size, and has not led to any injuries or destroyed any structures.
The fire has caused at least 65-million dollars in crop damage to Napa County’s vineyards, according to early estimates, released Wednesday.
Napa County Agriculture Commissioner Tracy Cleveland says 15-hundred acres of crops have been damaged or destroyed in the fire. That is about three percent of Napa Valley’s total production acreage.
Twenty percent of the crop losses are directly from the fire, the other 80 percent are from smoke damage, but totals are expected to climb in the coming days as inspections continue.
The Pickett Fire may have been the result of an escaped controlled burn according to dispatch records reviewed by the Press Democrat. The records indicate the controlled burn was taking place at a winery last Thursday afternoon, at about the same time the fire was first reported.
Cal Fire says no official determination of a cause has been made.