Soberanes Fire

Wildfire in Monterey County, July 2016

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Printed October 28, 2026 from www.firezones.info/fire/7540/soberanes-fire-2016

Key facts

Started July 22, 2016
Contained October 13, 2016, after 83 days
Burned 132,104 acres
Largest fire of 2016 and 35th largest in California's records
Cause Campfire
Buildings 69 destroyed, 4 damaged
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Where it burned

County

  1. Monterey County 132,104 acres

Acres are the land the fire burned in each county and community, and places where it burned less than an acre are not listed. Communities are cities, towns and the unincorporated places the Census Bureau names, so land outside any of them is counted only in its county.

Buildings damaged

  1. Destroyed Over 50% damaged 69
  2. Major damage 25 to 50% damaged 1
  3. Minor damage 10 to 25% damaged 3

Buildings CAL FIRE inspected after the fire, by how badly each was damaged. Inspectors record homes, businesses and outbuildings within 100 meters of the fire, and cannot always reach every one, so the counts can differ slightly from other reports.

The same land, other fires

Burned before

  1. 1911 Unnamed fire 3,214 acres shared
  2. 1916 Unnamed fire 6,135 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 2,765 acres shared
  3. 1921 Unnamed fire 8,289 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 2,834 acres shared
  4. 1923 Unnamed fire Cause: Miscellaneous 2,019 acres shared
  5. 1924 Unnamed fire 54,480 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 50,972 acres shared
  6. 1928 Unnamed fire 20,898 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 7,969 acres shared
  7. 1933 Unnamed fire 7,429 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 2,843 acres shared
  8. 1933 Unnamed fire 7,901 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 1,197 acres shared
  9. 1939 Unnamed fire Cause: Miscellaneous 2,434 acres shared
  10. 1950 Unnamed fire 2,508 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 1,907 acres shared
  11. 1952 Joshua Creek Fire 2,606 acres shared
  12. 1954 San Clemente Fire 2,358 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 2,274 acres shared
  13. 1954 Devil Fire 13,094 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 11,408 acres shared
  14. 1972 Molera Fire 3,931 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 3,010 acres shared
  15. 1977 Marble-Cone Fire 173,333 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 76,653 acres shared
  16. 1986 Bottcher Fire Cause: Campfire 2,557 acres shared
  17. 1989 Molera #2 Fire 2,745 acres in total 911 acres shared
  18. 1996 Sur Fire 4,407 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 4,312 acres shared
  19. 1999 Kirk Fire 85,835 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 22,402 acres shared
  20. 2008 Gallery Fire 163,607 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 92,424 acres shared

And 23 more fires that burned less of the same land. Acres are the land each fire shares with the Soberanes Fire, and fires that shared less than an acre are not counted. Some older or smaller fires may be missing, and a fire perimeter can include unburned patches. How to read fire history

Sources

Fire history
CAL FIRE Fire and Resource Assessment Program
Published 28 July 2026
Building damage
CAL FIRE Damage Inspection
Updated 19 October 2026

This site is independent and not affiliated with CAL FIRE or the CPUC, so for an official determination, check with the agency or your city or county. How we read the data