Some residents were allowed to return home Sunday afternoon as the Pickett Fire in California's Napa County has burned nearly 7,000 acres. 

On Sunday, the fire stayed within its footprint, remaining at 6,803 acres and 11% containment. The Pickett Fire surpasses last year's Point Fire, which burned more than 1,200 acres.

Evacuation orders and warnings remained in effect as of Sunday night.

Two zones in evacuation orders, NPA-E120 and POP-E001A, were downgraded to evacuation warnings on Sunday. Residents were allowed to return home but were urged to use caution as emergency crews are in the area. 

Later Sunday afternoon, Napa County officials announced they had declared a local emergency in response to the fire.

A resource community center was established in Calistoga at 1307 Washington St., Napa County said. The center has A/C, charging stations and light refreshments.

Crews reported Sunday evening that they were making good progress strengthening containment lines and mopping up hot spots thanks to more favorable weather conditions. 

"Down on the right flank of the fire, that's where most of the smoke you saw today and yesterday," said Steve Chapman, operations section chief for Cal Fire, on Sunday evening. "Those are interior islands that were burning off. Well interior with no threat to the lines."

Overnight temperatures are expected to drop into the 60s, but Cal Fire said the potential for fire growth still exists. 

There have not been any reports that any structures were damaged or destroyed. Cal Fire reports there are 615 structures threatened. 

There are 2,045 personnel assigned to the fire as of Sunday, according to Cal Fire. That is up drastically from the 350 who were working on the fire Thursday night into Friday morning. As of Sunday, there were 205 engines, 67 dozers, 23 water tenders, 53 crews and 10 helicopters. 

Some crews were flown in to access the fire due to the remote, steep and rugged terrain. 

The fire started just before 3 p.m. in the area of Pickett Road northeast of Kenefick Ranch Vineyard and Winery, outside Calistoga city limits. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Pickett Fire evacuations remain in effect

As of Sunday morning, evacuation orders were in place in the following areas:

• POP-E001-B
• POP-E002-C
• NPA-E114
• NPA-E115
• NPA-E121-B
• NPA-E121-C
• NPA-E122-B
• NAP-E107-B
• NAP-E108-A

Meanwhile, evacuation warnings are in effect in the following zones:

• POP-E001-A
• NPA-E120
• ANG-E001
• NPA-E107-A    
• NPA-E121-A
• NPA-E122-A
• POP-E002-B

Residents can find their evacuation zones at protect.genasys.com. Information on the Pickett Fire can also be found on Cal Fire's incident page.

Air quality impacted

Smoke from the fire was expected to impact air quality in the North Bay into early next week.

On Friday, the Bay Area Air District has issued an Air Quality Advisory for Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties. The agency has since extended the advisory through Monday, Aug. 25.

Residents in the counties are being urged to check air quality levels by visiting fire.airnow.gov and to take steps to protect themselves from smoke.

During a smoke event, the air district urges residents to stay indoors or to visit locations with filtered air. Additional tips can be found on the Air District's website.

Fire burns near wineries

"It's really good to see that they really hammered with as many helicopters as they can get, as many planes as they can get," said winemaker Banyon Kirkendall, who watched the firefight from Venge Vineyards.

The fire broke out not far from Kirkendall's workplace. The former firefighter spent his 20s battling wildfires and admitted the scene brought back memories.

"For me, I miss fighting fires. So I get a little depressed.  I want to get back out there with the guys on the line," Kirkendall said. "But more importantly, as a winemaker, [I worry about the] smoke on the grapes... The quicker they can get this thing out, the smoke can leave, we can make good wine again."

Despite how close the flames burned to the vineyard, strong winds pushed the fire northeast, away from Calistoga's main population center. Still, many Napa County residents remain in the fire's path.

Some winery owners and residents said they stayed up all night soaking their property with hoses.

"We thought with the Glass Fire, we don't have to worry about fires anymore," said Pickett Road resident Mark Armbruster.  "We're through with fires now. We had enough."

Fire officials said the Pickett Fire was burning in a scar left by the 2020 Glass Fire, meaning vegetation wasn't as heavy. Still, extreme heat complicated firefighting efforts.

"A lot of the fire retardant has hit up on the left flank and close to the head of the fire," said Cal Fire spokesman Jason Clay as crews continued air attacks.

Kirkendall remains optimistic. With mutual aid arriving from across the region, he is hopeful the fire will be contained soon.

"Really good no nobody lost homes and wineries.  I'm glad the guys are getting on it and suppressing it pretty fast," he said.

The largest fire in Napa County history was the 2020 LNU Lightning Complex in 2020, which burned about 165,000 acres in the county out of more than 363,000 acres burned across five counties.