Los Angeles ? Firefighters battling a giant wildfire that had scorched more than 250 square miles of brush and timber fully contained the blaze late Monday, nearly a month after it began.

The 162,702-acre fire, which has cost more than $73 million to fight, was fully contained around 6 p.m., said Peter Frenzen, a spokesman for Los Padres National Forest.

Crews will focus on putting out hot spots to prevent flames from jumping the 163-mile fire line, Frenzen said.

“This fire won’t be put out until winter weather puts it out. It’s too large an area, and it’s burning in difficult, steep rugged terrain,” he said.

The blaze started from a trash fire on Labor Day and spread across 162,702 acres, or 254 square miles, of brush and timber, mainly in the Los Padres and Angeles national forests.