LOS ANGELES, June 1 (Xinhua) -- The Thomas Fire was officially declared to be out by the Los Padres National Forest on Friday after it broke out in Ventura County of California nearly 6 months ago.
The forest officials said since no hot spots have been detected within the burn area for more than two months, so they lifted The Thomas Fire Closure Order last week and now declare the fire fully out.
However, in the weeks and months ahead, Los Padres National Forest will continue working with local groups to repair road, trails and fences that were damaged in the fire and subsequent rain events.
The Thomas Fire, the largest fire in California history, broke out on Dec. 4 of 2017 and burned 281,893 acres (1140.8 square kilometers), of which 181,333 (733.8 square kilometers) were on Los Padres National Forest.
More than 1,000 structures were lost in the fire before it was fully contained on Jan. 12 this year. Two lives were lost in the fire, including 32 year-old CAL FIRE Apparatus Engineer Cory Iverson.
It also burned the hillsides above Montecito, a vacation town 140 kilometers east of Los Angeles downtown, weakening the land, leading to the deadly January mudslides, in which 23 were killed.
