Napa Man Charged With Allegedly Starting Wildfire That Devastated Wine Country, Caused Millions of Dollars in Losses
Firefighters battle the Pickett Fire burning in the Aetna Springs area of Napa County, Calif., on Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
A California man has been charged with allegedly starting a wildfire that devastated thousands of acres in Napa Valley Wine Country and caused millions of dollars in losses to the region’s wine industry.
Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley announced Thursday that 45-year-old Juan Luis Gutierrez Marfil faces a felony charge of recklessly causing a fire to a structure or forest, according to the Press Democrat. Prosecutors also allege the fire caused more than $6 million in losses.
According to the criminal complaint, Gutierrez Marfil told Cal Fire law enforcement that he disposed of hot ashes in a burn pile, which then ignited and led to the Pickett Fire.
The fire began Aug. 21, 2025, near the 2300 block of Pickett Road north of Calistoga. It ultimately burned more than 10 square miles before firefighters fully contained it on Sept. 8.
The wildfire destroyed a home and several other buildings and forced thousands of residents to evacuate.
The blaze also inflicted a major blow to Napa Valley’s wine industry. Smoke from the fire damaged grapes and ruined harvests, with the overall economic impact to the region’s wine industry estimated in the tens of millions of dollars.
Gutierrez Marfil was a contract worker for Hundred Acre Wines, according to the Press Democrat.
The winery has since become part of litigation stemming from the fire. A group of winemakers is suing Hundred Acre owner Jayson Woodbridge over smoke taint that they say ruined their 2025 grape harvests.
The Pickett Fire burned in an area that had already been devastated by the 2020 Glass Fire, which burned more than 100 square miles and destroyed hundreds of homes and other structures.
The latest case adds a criminal proceeding to the fallout from the 2025 wildfire.
If convicted, Gutierrez Marfil could face multiple years in prison. He was scheduled to be arraigned Sept. 9.
The charges are allegations, and Gutierrez Marfil is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
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