(Wine-Searcher) - Vintage in danger as massive blaze continues to frustrate firefighters.

Monterey County's best wine grapes are in peril as an enormous fire is burning out of control to their windward side.

The fire that started in Soberanes Creek in Big Sur on July 22 has grown to cover more than 38,000 acres. It has destroyed 57 homes and has burned one vineyard already. The cause of the fire has not been determined.

Obviously, the threat to life and property is the paramount issue at the moment for the more than 5300 firefighters battling the fire. One bulldozer operator has already been killed.

But the 2016 vintage of Monterey County's most highly regarded wines is also facing a grave threat.

The fire is burning south of Carmel-by-the-Sea, one of the most beautiful small cities on California's Central Coast. It appears to be spreading to the south of the city where Clint Eastwood was once the mayor.

This year's grapes in Carmel Valley are already endangered, as the air quality was declared "unhealthy" five days ago by the Monterey Bay Air Resources District. Bernardus Vineyards & Winery vineyard manager Matt Shea told Wines & Vines, "We've definitely been bathed in smoke."