Soberanes fire has become one of the most expensive wildfires in U.S. history
Dean Riddle of the Mill Valley, Calif., Fire Department hikes through trees blanketed with fire retardant after battling the Soberanes fire in Monterey County.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)Smoke from the Soberanes fire rises above the north slope of Chews Ridge in Los Padres National Forest.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)Ahmad Bahari, a loss verifier with the U.S. Small Business Administration, surveys a property destroyed by the Soberanes fire along Palo Colorado Road in Carmel.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)Hotshot firefighters with the U.S. Forest Service return to a lookout after battling the Soberanes fire in Los Padres National Forest. The fire has swallowed up more than 126,000 acres so far.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)A burned-out truck sits near where a home once stood in Carmel. The Soberanes fire has destroyed several dozen homes since it was sparked by an illegal campfire on July 22.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)Members of the U.S. Forest Service Smith River Hotshot Crew wait to be air-lifted by helicopter to battle the Soberanes fire burning in Garrapata State Park in the Los Padres National Forest.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)A swimming pool and a chimney are all that remain from a home decimated by the Soberanes fire in Carmel.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)The U.S. Forest Service Smith River Hotshot Crew is air-lifted by helicopter to battle the Soberanes fire burning in Garrapata State Park in the Los Padres National Forest.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)A wagon destroyed by the Soberanes fire rests on Palo Colorado Road in Carmel.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)A firefighter hikes back to a lookout tower after battling the Soberanes fire on Chews Ridge in Los Padres National Forest.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)Firefighters battling the Soberanes fire set up tents at Rana Camp off of Carmel Valley Road in Carmel.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)