California’s biggest wildfire declared officially out
The largest wildfire in recorded California is officially out nearly six months after it began.
Los Padres National Forest officials declared the Thomas fire extinguished Friday after no hotspots were detected within the perimeter for more than two months.
The fire broke out Dec. 4, 2017, near Thomas Aquinas College northwest of Los Angeles and burned more than 440 square miles (1,140 square kilometers). More than half the fire was in the forest.
More than 1,000 structures were lost in the fire before it was fully contained on Jan. 12. Two lives were lost in the fire, including a state firefighter.
On Jan. 9, a downpour on fire-denuded mountains unleashed massive debris flows that ravage hundreds of homes in the community of Montecito, killing 21 people and leaving two missing.
