Man charged with allegedly starting 2025 Pickett Fire in Napa Valley Wine Country

Authorities in Napa County have charged a man for allegedly setting the 2025 Pickett Fire near Calistoga, which burned thousands of acres of Wine Country and ruined grape harvests because of the smoke.

Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley announced on Thursday her office had charged 45-year-old Juan Luis Gutierrez Marfil recklessly causing a fire of a structure or forest, with a special allegation it caused more than $6 million in losses.

According to the complaint, Gutierrez Marfil admitted to Cal Fire law enforcement of disposing hot ashes into a burn pile, which then caused fire. 

The Press Democrat reported that Gutierrez Marfil was a contract worker with Hundred Acre Wines winery. A group of winemakers are suing Hundred Acre owner Jayson Woodbridge over the smoke taint from the wildfire that ruined their harvests. 

The fire began on August 21, 2025 on the 2300 block of Pickett Road north of Calistoga. It burned more than 10 square miles before firefighters were able to fully contain it on September 8, 2025. The fire destroyed a home and several buildings and forced thousands of people to evacuate. It burned in the same area of the 2020 Glass Fire that burned over 100 square miles and destroyed hundreds of homes and buildings.

Damage to the region's wine industry was estimated in the tens of millions of dollars.

Gutierrez Marfil faces multiple years in prison if convicted. He was scheduled to be arraigned on September 9.