New Details About How The Pickett Fire Ignited Surfacing As Evacuation Orders Are Lifted

NAPA VALLEY, CA — More details about how the Pickett fire ignited are surfacing as the local lawmakers declare a health emergency due to the blaze that has burned more than 6,800 acres around Calistoga.

Cal Fire Investigators are looking more closely at the disposal of ashes that may have come from an outdoor fireplace on the Calistoga property of the acclaimed winery Hundred Acre, which owns a vineyard at 2339 Pickett Rd., close to where the fire started at 2343 Pickett Rd. on Aug. 21.

The fire broke out during wedding preparations on behalf of Emilyn Smith, daughter of one of the first employees at Hundred Acre, and her fiancé, Sean O'Donnell, a spokesman for the winery confirmed.

Weddings at wineries have been banned in Napa Valley since 1990 except estates that were grandfathered in.

However, because the wedding was a family gathering — and not an event involving the rental of the vineyard — it did not warrant nor require permitting by the County of Napa, the spokesman, Sam Singer, said.

He also confirmed that workers were working on a fireplace. The contractor removed the ashes after the fire, put them in a bucket, doused them with water and then discarded them, Singer said.

Firefighters have contained 91 percent of the Pickett fire and all evacuation orders were lifted Tuesday.

Napa County Supervisors declared an emergency on Aug. 24, three days after the Pickett Fire began. According to the report to the Calistoga City Council, which followed with a declaration Tuesday, a local emergency exists due to the conditions of extreme peril to the safety of people and property. A declaration allows lawmakers to request resources including financial support and reimbursement from the State Office of Emergency Services (OES) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for costs incurred in response to the Pickett Fire.