Ross Fire Containment Grows and a Napa Pickett Fire Arrest — August 29, 2026

A quieter day on the fire lines than earlier this week, with containment rising in North Texas and Idaho. Away from the flames, the news was mostly legal and regulatory: a criminal charge over a California fire, a Colorado push to rein in refinery flaring, and California lawmakers running out the clock on who pays for utility-sparked fires.

Ross fire containment reaches 31 percent

Firefighters worked Saturday on the Ross fire, an 85,000-acre blaze burning through parts of Palo Pinto and Jack counties west of Fort Worth. The Texas A&M Forest Service put containment at 31 percent as of Friday night, The Dallas Morning News reports. Crews pushed containment lines north of the Brazos River, using aircraft on hot spots while ground crews reinforced the lines.

The fire started Monday in Palo Pinto County and spread fast on a combination of extreme heat, dry vegetation and gusting winds. No deaths have been reported, and evacuation orders in Palo Pinto and Jack counties have been lifted. The cause is still undetermined.

A 97-year-old scout camp among the losses

One of the fire's casualties is Worth Ranch, a 97-year-old Scouting camp on the Brazos River. Photographs of the site show charred buildings with melted roofs and blackened cedar and juniper, with the dining hall and meeting hall destroyed, The Dallas Morning News reports.

Former campers and staff described the loss in personal terms. "This camp has a lore that's like nothing else," said Joe Otto, 49, who first went to Worth Ranch in 1988 and later returned as a staff member and camp cook.

Winery gardener charged over the Pickett fire

A Napa County gardener has been charged with recklessly causing the Pickett fire, which burned 6,800 acres over 17 days near Calistoga last August, the Los Angeles Times reports. According to charging documents, Juan Luis Gutierrez Marfil, 45, admitted to Cal Fire law enforcement that he disposed of hot ashes into a burn pile.

The Napa County agricultural commissioner's office said preliminary reports showed roughly $65 million in agricultural losses, most of it to wine grapes. Three winemakers filed suit earlier this month alleging that smoke from the fire ruined their harvests. Hundred Acre Wines, which owns the property, denied the claims and said it plans to defend itself. An arraignment is set for September 9.

Colorado targets refinery flaring near Denver

Colorado air regulators are planning new rules aimed at the flares at Suncor Energy's Commerce City oil refinery, The Denver Post reports. A state report published in April found those flares are Colorado's most significant source of volatile organic compounds, which feed the ground-level ozone problem that has put the Front Range in violation of federal air quality standards.

The report also placed the refinery in the state's top 10 for sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitrous oxides. The state's Air Pollution Control Division said it is looking at programs requiring periodic reviews of how the facility operates its flares and what technology it uses to cut emissions from flaring.

Idaho canyon fire at 10 percent containment

A 250-acre wildfire in Hatwai Canyon north of Lewiston, Idaho, was 10 percent contained, the Lewiston Morning Tribune reports. Steep terrain, rock outcroppings and thick brush have made it hard for ground crews to reach the fire safely, so managers are leaning on aerial attack alongside 120 firefighters, seven engines, six water tenders and two scooper planes.

U.S. Highway 95 was closed briefly on Thursday and remains open, though drivers are advised to watch for firefighting traffic from the top of the Lewiston Hill past the bridge over Hatwai Creek.

California's wildfire liability fight goes down to the wire

California lawmakers spent Friday negotiating over who pays when utility equipment starts a wildfire, with a legislative deadline looming and several wildfire bills undecided, the Orange County Register reports. Eaton and Palisades fire survivors have spent weeks lobbying against a utility liability proposal that Governor Gavin Newsom describes as putting survivors first and that critics call a bailout.

Survivors did secure one win this week. The state Senate unanimously passed Assembly Bill 2700, which would require the California Public Utilities Commission to identify pathways for full restitution for victims of fires sparked by PG&E equipment, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports. The bill covers survivors of the 2015 Butte Fire, the 2017 North Bay firestorm and the 2018 Camp Fire who were never made whole under the $13.5 billion settlement that followed PG&E's 2019 bankruptcy.

Sources

• Ross fire reaches 31% containment, forest service says — The Dallas Morning News
• A flood of grief after Texas wildfire ravages beloved scout camp — The Dallas Morning News
• Winery worker charged with causing damaging Napa wine country wildfire — Los Angeles Times
• Colorado seeks more regulation of Suncor refinery to reduce pollution — The Denver Post
• Fire in Hatwai Canyon 10% contained — Lewiston Morning Tribune
• As deadline looms, survivors await as landmark wildfire legislation hangs in the balance — Santa Ana Orange County Register
• Northern California wildfire survivors scored late win with Senate passage of bill aimed at making them whole — Santa Rosa Press Democrat

Canairy aggregates publicly reported air-quality and wildfire news and summarizes it in plain English, with links to the original sources. This is educational information, not medical or emergency advice. In a wildfire or air-quality emergency, follow guidance from local authorities.