Grants Pass, Ore. ? The nation’s largest wildfire this year has been contained at nearly 500,000 acres about two months after it was ignited by lightning, but fire officials warn the fight isn’t over.

It could be weeks before the blaze in southwestern Oregon and northern California is extinguished depending on how much rain falls, said fire spokeswoman Betty Higgins.

“Folks need to understand there is still quite a bit of unburned vegetation in the middle of this,” she said.

Crews made the final connections of the 405-mile perimeter of roads, bulldozer lines and hand lines Thursday night.

The fire has cost $133.1 million to fight, the most expensive in the nation this year. The average date for enough rain to douse the flames is Oct. 11.

The blaze spared most of the region along the Illinois River, home to threatened coho salmon and other fish.

Farther south, rain and cooler temperatures Friday helped firefighters slow the spread of an 18,000-acre wildfire that has destroyed dozens of buildings in the Angeles National Forest.

Investigators suspect that fire was started by candles used in an animal sacrifice ritual.