Vintage fire

This is the sort of fireside scene one expects if the fire resulted in the loss of loved ones or pets or perhaps the family home. But this was really bad. The sobbing and shocked expressions stem from the loss of something really irreplaceable.

Up to $100 million of California's finest wine was destroyed Wednesday in a huge warehouse fire.

Tens of millions of dollars worth of vintage wine were believed to have been destroyed by a relentless fire Wednesday at a huge Vallejo warehouse that was considered one of the most secure places for wineries and individuals to store prized collections.

The three-alarm fire at Wines Central sent plumes of smoke more than 700 feet high that could be seen for miles. The blaze could not be controlled by firefighters because the Mare Island building -- a 1942 structure that once housed Navy torpedoes -- had steel doors and 3-foot-thick concrete walls and a concrete roof that could not be penetrated.