Pickett Fire in northern Napa County forces evacuations

[Auggie]

Napa ValleyRegister / Updated at 10:15 p.m. Thursday

Evacuation orders and warnings remained in effect Thursday evening for communities near the Pickett Fire southeast of Calistoga, which Cal Fire's Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit reported had grown to 1,200 acres with no containment as of 10:08 p.m. (2,133 acres by 1:00 am)

Two Genasys zones for communities near the wildfire came under Napa County evacuation orders soon after the blaze began, and a third area also came under a similar order just after 5 p.m. Other areas were placed under an evacuation warning with residents advised to be ready to leave, including two zones west of Angwin.

Napa County’s emergency command center received reports of a vegetation fire at 2:53 p.m. amid vineyards and forested hills near the 2300 block of Pickett Road, according to Erick Hernandez, the county deputy fire marshal.

The first fire crews on the scene saw a half-acre of flames spreading uphill and being fed by wind, Hernandez said. Cal Fire cameras from the surrounding Upvalley showed a smoke plume that darkened as the fire spread, reportedly becoming visible from the lower Upvalley and as far west as Santa Rosa. By 4:05 p.m., a Napa Valley Register photographer reported that smoke was visible from Highway 29 several miles south of Calistoga.

https://napavalleyregister.com/news/pickett-fire-calistoga-wildfire-evacuation/article_4682f4ad-f9b3-46af-aa71-5f4329c42f83.html

[JoseBalow]

1. It's scary how fast and far these fires can spread

I hope they get a good handle on it soon! All it takes is an increase or shift in wind for things to change for the worse rapidly. Luckily California has the best fire crews.