A video circulating on Reddit shows a grill left unattended on Smittle Creek Trail near Lake Berryessa in Napa County, California. According to the footage, the flames spread to nearby dry leaves, sparking a fire in an area already known for wildfire risk.
The clip was shared on Reddit’s r/PublicFreakout by a user named bigbusta and drew a large volume of reactions. Many commenters expressed frustration over what they described as careless behavior during an Independence Day cookout.
According to SFGATE, Cal Fire’s Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit (LNU) responded to a fire off the 5500 block of Berryessa Knoxville Road on Saturday afternoon. The agency referred to the blaze as the Smittle Fire.
Cal Fire says the blaze burned about 4 acres before being fully contained
The fire burned about 3 acres before crews stopped its spread along the western banks of Lake Berryessa, according to Cal Fire. Crews reportedly made additional progress overnight, and the fire was fully contained on Sunday after an additional acre burned, bringing the total to about 4 acres.
Cal Fire said hose removal work and hot spot monitoring would continue through Sunday and Monday. The agency said it would consider the fire cleared if no smoke is spotted for three consecutive days.
The Reddit post drew thousands of reactions, with many commenters criticizing the apparent lack of attention paid to the grill. One comment read, “People are so f- dumb.” Another said, “‘It won’t happen to me, I’ll be careful.’ Said every dumba- before acting dumb.” Another commenter reacted to the incident by writing, “This is why we can’t have nice things.”
Other commenters raised questions about potential financial responsibility. One asked, “Damn does the person grilling have to pay damages to the county if they get found out.” Another responded, “People who start wild fires are regularly held liable.” A third commenter wrote, “This is unacceptable. Whoever was responsible for this should be forced to pay the full damages this is going to cause.”
One commenter, who said they are from the area and visit the lake periodically, wrote, “There is signage EVERYWHERE stating only propane fires.” This comment suggests that open flames other than propane-based grills may not be permitted at the location, though the exact posted rules were not independently detailed in the source material.
Some commenters pointed to past incidents involving fires caused by unattended equipment or discarded cigarettes. One user described pulling over to extinguish a fire that reportedly started after a cigarette was flicked from a vehicle into dry grass. Another wrote that preventing accidental grill fires is generally not difficult with basic precautions. A similar dispute in Florida involved a pot of oil left on a stove that sparked an apartment fire.
Some commenters distinguished between fires reportedly caused by negligence and those attributed to arson. One wrote, “Yes, there are psychos who start fires intentionally, but most of the time it’s people too stupid to understand what they’re doing.” Another suggested that establishing legal responsibility in cases like this would likely depend on whether negligence could be demonstrated, particularly if signage prohibiting certain fire activities was posted at the location.
Napa County and the surrounding areas have experienced multiple wildfires in past years, according to commenters referencing the region’s fire history. Some described the area as prone to fire conditions with dry vegetation. Fires elsewhere in California have also required large-scale emergency responses this year, including an ongoing blaze at a food storage warehouse that prompted a state of emergency in Los Angeles.
Published: Jul 7, 2026 01:39 pm