A man is facing criminal charges for allegedly igniting last year’s Pickett Fire that burned through California Wine Country.
Juan Luis Gutierrez Marfil, of Napa, is charged with recklessly causing a fire of a structure or forest, a felony, “along with a special allegation that the offense caused more than $6 million in losses,” the Napa County District Attorney’s Office said in a Thursday, August 27, news release.
The Pickett Fire began in Calistoga, located in the Napa Valley region, on August 21, 2025, burning for 17 days and torching nearly 7,000 acres, according to Cal Fire. There were no confirmed fatalities.
Napa County estimated the fire caused $56 million in wine industry losses, The Press Democrat reported.
Marfil, 45, while working at Hundred Acre Wines, told Cal Fire officials he dumped hot ashes into a burn pile, resulting in the wildfire, according to a criminal complaint obtained by the newspaper.
A spokesman for the winery told The Press Democrat that Marfil was performing contract work at the time of the fire.
The district attorney’s office said Marfil’s criminal prosecution “is separate from pending civil proceedings related to the fire, and the Napa County District Attorney’s Office will not comment on those matters.”
Three winemakers are suing Hundred Acre Wines’ owner, Jayson Woodbridge, over alleged destruction to their vineyards due to the Pickett Fire, the Napa Valley Register reported. The winemakers include Outpost Wines, Laelius Winegrowing and Impensata Wines.
“The Napa County Deputy DA has investigated the Pickett Fire and found no basis to file a criminal case against the Hundred Acre affiliates that own and operate the Pickett Road property,” Hundred Acre Wines spokesman Sam Singer told The Press Democrat. “We agree with that assessment and are pleased we have been cleared by the DA’s office.”
Marfil is scheduled to be arraigned in court on September 9, according to the district attorney’s office.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether he had retained legal representation.
The Pickett Fire was the largest of three wildfires that burned in Napa County in 2025, according to Cal Fire. In total, there were 8,232 wildfires throughout the state in 2025.
The blaze torched a home, multiple buildings and resulted in the evacuation of thousands of people last summer, CBS News reported.
In 2026, there were nearly 5,000 wildfires in California, with seven fires listed as active, as of Friday, August 28, Cal Fire reports online.
