The largest wildfire on record in California is 100 percent contained more than a month after it began in the hills of Ventura County, according to Los Padres National Forest officials.

The nearly 282,000-acre Thomas fire spread into Santa Barbara County, burning homes and charring hillsides -- a chain of events that eventually led to this week's deadly mudflows in Montecito. Authorities made the determination after flights Thursday over the burn area, marking an important milestone after weeks of grueling work by firefighters to protect lives and property.

A wildfire is contained when it is surrounded on all sides by some type of boundary, but is still burning and could jump one of those boundaries. When there is no further threat of a fire jumping a containment line, it's considered controlled -- at that point, the fire fight is over.

An official cause of the fire, which began Dec. 4, has not been determined.

Two deaths were reported in connection with the fire, which was driven by strong winds. Firefighter Cory Iverson, 32, died due to thermal injuries and smoke inhalation, according to the medical examiner. A 70-year-old woman was killed in a car crash along an evacuation route.

The fire destroyed more than 1,060 structures.

It also stripped brush from hillsides above Montecito. Without vegetation, soil does not absorb enough rain, causing water to bounce of the surface and flow downhill. 

It was one of several devastating wildfires that burned throughout California last year. Cal Fire's analysis of 2017 showed that five of the top 20 most destructive fires in the state's history occurred last year. 

In 2017, there were 7,117 fires recorded within the Cal Fire jurisdiction, which burned 505,956 acres. This is nearly double what was reported in 2016. In 2016, Cal Fire recorded 4,800 fires, totaling 244,319 acres burned.

The year-end tally does not include the Thomas fire.

The state historically faces an increased wildfire threat in fall, but dry and windy conditions persisted into December last year. The Thomas fire's size and rate of spread would be considered significant at any time of year, but it is unprecedented for December and January.

The significant increase in the numbers and size of fires was largely because the state was coming off one of its wettest winters in years in 2016-2017, which left hillsides covered in grass and other vegetation. That grass dried out in summer and turned into tinder, providing fuel for rapidly spreading fires often pushed by strong winds that can carry hot embers for miles and turn small spot fires into infernos.

NBC Connecticut combed through 2016 U.S. Census data to learn how many of the state’s immigrants came from nations of which President Donald Trump reportedly called "s--thole countries."

The data indicates Connecticut has roughly half a million immigrants living in the state.

Of that population, 21,000 people are from African nations and most of which are from western Africa.

Roughly 13,000 of the state’s immigrants came from Haiti and 5,600 people came from El Salvador.

Trump mentioned each of those nations and regions while discussing immigration policy on Jan 11, according to NBC News.

Reports also indicate Trump said he believes the United States should have more people coming in from countries like Norway, which makes up less than one-tenth of one percent of Connecticut’s immigrants with 544 people.

More than half of the state’s African and El Salvadoran populations live in either Hartford or New Haven counties, while most of the Haitian population lives in Fairfield County, as do most of the state’s Norwegians.

The state’s top nation as a source of immigration is India.

Route 8 in Seymour had one lane closed on Friday night due to flooding. 

Connecticut State Police posted a picutre of the area on Route 8 south between exits 20 and 22. 

Traffic was passing in the right lane. 

Eighteen-year-old Edwin Hernandez moved to the U.S. without most of his family, working 40-hour weeks to send money to his mother in Guatemala. Now the honor student is facing a challenge he never imagined: He had to have part of his leg amputated after an accident on the job. 

The day after Christmas, Hernandez was working a shift at Table 104 in Stamford, Connecticut, when out of nowhere, a car slammed into the restaurant, trapping him.  

"I was screaming, yelling, that I need help," he said. "I get trapped in the wires. And when they take me out, I don't remember anything." 

Hernandez's world was suddenly flipped on its axis. Doctors amputated his right leg above the knee. With most of his family back in Guatemala, the hard-working high school senior was left to deal with the tragedy on his own.

"One of the things that make me sad, I don't have my mommy here, first," he told News 4 at the hospital where he's recovering. "And second, I don't have my leg, and I can't explain that feeling. But I just, when I am alone, I turn to cry, because it's really sad."  

But the teen who loves soccer and dreams of going to law school has already proven he can persevere through hardship. Hernandez moved to the U.S. just two years ago, and in that time, he's learned English, gotten into the National Honor Society and works 40-hour weeks to send money home to his mother. His teachers at Stamford High School call him a dream student. 

"He is somebody who has had more than his fair share of challenges put in his way," said teacher Kristi Lawson. "Every time he's had a challenge, he's not only met it -- but come out better for it." 

Hernandez is aiming to get a prosthetic leg fitted in a couple of weeks, then he'll have months of therapy. He's also determined to get out of the hospital room, go back to school, graduate on time and maybe even go to senior prom. 

"He needs to relearn how to walk and manage using muscles that he probably hasn't used before in this capacity," his doctor said. 

Physiatrist Dr. Carolyn Casino said Hernandez is "young, he's healthy, and he's strong. He's doing remarkably well." 

In the meantime, he has gotten a flood of support from teachers, students and his former boss -- a cheering squad who look to the teen as a source of inspiration. 

"Even though his life hasn't always been the easiest, he makes sure that everyone else is happy and that they have everything they need," said friend Ashley Alfaro. "And now that he's in the time of need is when everyone else is here for him." 

Hernandez says he's thankful for his support network. 

"Those people are the people who make me strong mentally and emotionally, and I am thankful for that," he said. 

Powerful winds caused power outages in parts of the state overnight.

Eversource officials said the wind took down tree limbs and wires starting around midnight. One of the worst-hit areas was Windham, where 9,982 customers without power at the peak around 6:30 a.m.

There were scattered outages across the state. As of 10 a.m., only 2,029 customers remained without power.

Eversource officials have crews out across the state making the necessary repairs.

The rain and melting snow are causing already swollen rivers to flow over the banks.

The Shetucket River is causing flooding issues in southeastern Connecticut.

In Norwich, the ice jammed up the river, flooding several backyards.

The ice broke up around 7:45 a.m. Saturday, creating a rushing waterfall sound that woke up the family who lives in this home in the Occum section of Norwich.

Lisa Garstka said the noise of the ice jam was so loud her family thought it was the train rolling by.

“So we woke up and looked out the window to see if it was the train, and it wasn’t, it was the ice that started about three houses down, and it was that loud that we could barely hear each other talk,” Garstka.

The problem started a half-mile upriver in Baltic, where a similar ice jam backed water up into the ball fields and one or two basements.

Authorities call the flooding minor.

Those large chunks of ice made their way downstream where they broke up and now sit near Garstka’s backyard.

Beyond that is the dam, which is currently flowing as it should.

That’s what’s most critical according to the emergency management director in Sprague.

All of the issues are caused by the rollercoaster weather the state has seen in the last 48 hours, which melted the snowpack and brought heavy amounts of rain.

“I think it’s totally bizarre and my body doesn’t like it all. Last week I was doing my laundry it was -8, and today it’s like 60, and by the time I get out of work it’s going to be 15, 20. My body doesn’t like it at all. Mother Nature I don’t think she knows what she’s doing,” said Ashley Webb of Lebanon.

Temperatures will take another dive back below freezing Saturday.

For more information on the forecast, click here.

Two people suffered non-life threatening injuries after weapons were pulled during an apparent fight on Maple Avenue in Hartford Saturday, police said.

Police said officers responded to an assault complaint after two ShotSpotter activations in the area of 768 Maple Avenue. When officers arrived they found two men – one suffering a gunshot wound to the butt and a second suffering a stab wound to the neck.

Both victims were taken to Hartford Hospital for treatment where they remain in stable condition.

Police said both victims appeared intoxicated when they were found and investigators believe they had a fight leading up to the incident.

No other injuries were reported.

Hartford police say a 17-year-old faces a charge of murder for stabbing his older brother to death outside their apartment building overnight.

Police are calling the stabbing at 2006 Main Street a “domestic violence homicide.”

According to police, an argument broke out between the pair just before 1 a.m. inside the apartment they share and spilled outside onto the sidewalk. Detectives said the 17-year-old stabbed his 22-year-old brother in the heart with a 4-inch steak knife.

The victim has been identified as Jiram Ortiz.

The family had just moved to Hartford from New Bedford, Mass. last week. They say the teen was taken into custody and is cooperating with police.

“It’s a domestic violence, heat of the moment type thing. I guess the juvenile was trying to assist his brother after he realized what he did. So, it’s a difficult situation for his family,” said Hartford Police Deputy Chief Brian Foley.

The victim was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Police said several family members who witnessed the stabbing were also hospitalized for anxiety and stress.

A jackknifed tractor-trailer caused lane closures on Interstate 91 north in Windsor Locks Saturday.

The crash happened around 12:30 p.m. near exit 45 Connecticut State police said no injuries were reported, but there was a fuel spill during the crash. The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection was called in for cleanup.

Two lanes remain closed while crews work to clear the crash.

Police have called off a search for two suspects who led police on a chase through multiple towns overnight.

Rocky Hill police said that just before midnight Middletown police warned Rocky Hill police that officers were pursuing a stolen vehicle into their town. Middletown police reported the vehicle crashed in the area of West Street and I-91.

Officers from Rocky Hill responded to assist. According to police, the suspects escaped on foot. During the pursuit a Middletown offer fired his gun, but no injuries were reported.

Authorities attempted to track the suspects but were unsuccessful. The road was shut down for several hours for investigation.

Investigators from the states attorney’s office, Middletown and Rocky Hill police all responded to process the scene.

The investigation is ongoing.

Route 7 is closed in Kent after an ice jam caused the Housatonic River to flood Saturday.

Officials said Route 7 is closed in both directions about a half mile south of the center of Kent. Emergency crews are on scene.

Ice jams and flooding were reported all across the state Saturday as the warm weather and melting snow caused swollen rivers to overflow.

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Chelsea Manning, the former Army intelligence analyst who was convicted in 2013 of leaking a trove of classified documents, has filed paperwork to run for a U.S. Senate seat in Maryland.

Manning would be taking on Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin, who has been serving the state for two terms since 2007. Manning filed her statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday.

The 30-year-old Manning listed a North Bethesda address in her FEC filing and is running as a Democrat.

Manning would become the fifth candidate who has declared intention for that U.S. Senate seat for Maryland.

Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen is Maryland’s other senator since his election in 2017.

Manning spent more than six years of a 35-year sentence behind bars. Former President Barack Obama granted clemency to Manning during his final days in office in January 2017.

Known as Bradley Manning at the time of her 2010 arrest, Manning came out as transgender after being sentenced.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

New Haven police have arrested a suspect in the killing of a man shot outside a gas station in New Haven early Friday morning.

Police said 35-year-old Kenneth Cooper was shot outside of the entrance to the Exxon gas station and convenience store at 775 Whalley Avenue just after 3 a.m.

A woman who was with Cooper drove him to the hospital, where he died a short time later.

New Haven police have arrested 31-year-old Joshua James Council in the case.

Council is charged with murder, criminal possession of a pistol without a permit and violation of probation. Police said Council is a convicted felon and was on parole.

Council is being held on a $1,000,000 bond.

On Saturday, residents in Hawaii were sent into a panic when they received alerts on their mobile phones and televisions warning that a ballistic missile was on its way. The warning, which claimed "this is not a drill," quickly prompted officials to say minutes later that it was sent in error, but what should you do in case of a real nuclear attack?

Survivors of an immediate blast would be much better served by finding cover. A car is better than the open air, while most houses are considerably safer than a car, particularly if there is room to hunker down in a basement.

“Go as far below ground as possible or in the center of a tall building,” says Ready.gov, the website created by FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security. “The goal is to put as many walls and as much concrete, brick and soil between you and the radioactive material outside.” The site recommends staying inside for at least 24 hours, unless authorities recommend coming out sooner.

The sheltering directives go against the basic human instinct to flee and to reunite with family members as quickly as possible, emergency preparedness officials acknowledge. But parents are directed to leave their kids in school or day care, rather than risk driving to them in the radiation-laden atmosphere.

Chris Matthews has apologized after footage surfaced of the "Hardball" host mocking Hillary Clinton while setting up for an interview with the then-presidential candidate and making a joke about obtaining a "Bill Cosby pill."

Matthews interviewed Clinton in an Iowa fire station during the Democratic primary season in 2016. New York Magazine's The Cut obtained video from right before that interview, with the MSNBC host waiting for Clinton to arrive, where he says, "Can I have some of the queen's waters? Precious waters?"

Seconds later, he asked, "Where's that Bill Cosby pill I brought with me?" Matthews continued to laugh at his jokes while his crew scoffed, clearly uncomfortable.

He apologized in a statement to The Cut, saying, "This was a terrible comment I made in poor taste during the height of the Bill Cosby headlines. I realize that's no excuse. I deeply regret it and I'm sorry."

MSNBC referred NBC News to Matthew’s statement in the New York Magazine article and said there was no further comment.

Hamden police are searching for a suspect who robbed a gas station at gunpoint Saturday.

Police said the suspect entered the Shell Gas Station at 3050 Whitney Avenue around 6 a.m. Saturday with a gun. Witnesses said the suspect jumped over the counter and demanded money from the register. He took off with cash and two packs of cigarettes.

The suspect is described as male and was wearing a gray shirt at the time of the crime. He fled on Foot toward Home Place and was last seen in a small dark colored sedan driving southbound on Whitney Avenue.

Anyone with information should contact Hamden police at 203-230-4040.

Sen. Jeff Flake is planning to slam President Donald Trump's attacks on the press on the Senate floor this week in a speech that will compare the president's use of the term "enemy of the people" to describe the media to Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.

"When a figure in power reflexively calls any press that doesn't suit him ‘fake news,’ it is that person who should be the figure of suspicion, not the press," Flake, R-Ariz., will say, according to excerpts of the speech provided to NBC News.

Trump called the media the "enemy of the people" in a February tweet. "The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!" the president wrote on Twitter.

"Mr. President, it is a testament to the condition of our democracy that our own president uses words infamously spoken by Josef Stalin to describe his enemies," Flake plans to say in the Senate remarks.

One person is dead and two others were critically injured in a crash on Meloy Road in West Haven Sunday.

Police said around 2:13 a.m. officers responded to the intersection of Meloy Road and Baker Street for a serious crash. Investigators said a Honda traveling south on Meloy crossed over into the northbound lane, hitting an Acura that was driving north.

One person was killed and two others critically injured. None of the victims have been identified.

The crash remains under investigation.

Republican Rep. Mia Love said Sunday that "she can't defend the indefensible" when it comes to the president's vulgar remarks referring to immigration from African nations and comments on whether the U.S. needed more Haitian immigrants, NBC News reported.

"I can't defend the indefensible. You have to understand that there are countries that struggle out there but ... their people are good people and they're part of us," Love, the daughter of Haitian immigrants, said on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday.

When asked if she thought President Donald Trump's reported description of African nations as "s**thole countries" during a meeting on immigration with lawmakers was racist, the Utah lawmaker replied that they were.

"I think they were, yes. I think they were unfortunate," she said. "I wasn't in the room. I know the comments were made. I don't know in which context they were made."

Two Republican senators accused Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, on Sunday of "misrepresenting" President Donald Trump’s comments in which he reportedly used the phrase "s--thole countries" in referring to Haiti and African nations during a meeting on immigration.

Sen. David Perdue, of Georgia, said in an appearance on ABC's "This Week" that Durbin's account of Thursday's meeting at the White House was a "total misrepresentation" of what happened. 

Perdue, one of six lawmakers present at the meeting, insisted on Sunday that Trump "did not use that word."

Sen. Tom Cotton, of Arkansas, was also at the meeting and echoed Perdue’s denial on CBS' "Face The Nation" Sunday. 

"I didn't hear that word either," Cotton said, adding, "I certainly didn't hear what Senator Durbin has said repeatedly." 

Trump sparked domestic and international backlash after reports surfaced that he made vulgar remarks as Durbin and Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, presented details of a potential bipartisan deal to protect immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children, known as "Dreamers," from deportation, while adding various border security measures - one of Trump's key demands.

Trump questioned why the U.S. would accept immigrants from Haiti and demanded that they be taken out of the deal, Durbin said Friday, corroborating accounts of the disparaging comments first reported by The Washington Post Friday. 

When the discussion turned to immigration from Africa, Trump then reportedly asked why the U.S. would allow "people from s--thole countries come here" and suggested instead that the U.S. bring in more people from places like Norway.

In a statement, White House deputy press secretary Raj Shah did not deny or even address the comments made.

"Certain Washington politicians choose to fight for foreign countries, but President Trump will always fight for the American people," Shah said. "Like other nations that have merit-based immigration, President Trump is fighting for permanent solutions that make our country stronger by welcoming those who can contribute to our society, grow our economy and assimilate into our great nation."

However, Trump claimed Friday on Twitter that he did not use that term, saying "The language used by me at the DACA meeting was tough, but this was not the language used," and later tweeting, "Never said anything derogatory about Haitians other than Haiti is, obviously, a very poor and troubled country. Never said 'take them out.' Made up by Dems. I have a wonderful relationship with Haitians. Probably should record future meetings - unfortunately, no trust!" 

Durbin forcefully rejected that denial Friday, saying Trump "said things which were hate-filled, vile and racist."

"I cannot believe that in the history of the White House, in that Oval Office, any president has ever spoken words that I personally heard our president speak yesterday," Durbin said during a press conference at a Martin Luther King Jr. Day breakfast. "He said these hate-filled things and he said them repeatedly," he continued.

"When the question was raised about Haitians, for example, we have a group that have temporary protected status in the United States because they were the victims of crises and disasters, political upheaval. The largest is El Salvadoran, the second is Honduran and the third is Haitian and when I mentioned that fact to him he said 'Haitians? Do we need more Haitians?' Durbin recounted. 

Both Cotton and Perdue attacked Durbin's credibility on Sunday, claiming Durbin has a "history of misrepresenting what happens in White House meetings."

"I didn't hear it, and I was sitting no further away from Donald Trump than Dick Durbin was," Cotton said, adding, "And I know what Dick Durbin has said about the president's repeated statements is incorrect." 

Sunday's remarks appeared to mark a shift from the statement issued jointly by Cotton and Perdue on Friday, in which both lawmakers said they "do not recall the President saying these comments specifically," to an outright denial that Trump used the vulgarity in question.

A spokesman for Durbin seized on that shift to turn questions of credibility onto Cotton and Perdue.

"Credibility is something that’s built by being consistently honest over time," Marter tweeted Sunday morning. "Senator Durbin has it. Senator Perdue does not. Ask anyone who’s dealt with both."

"Yesterday, Senators Cotton and Perdue 'could not recall' what the President said," he later added. "Today they can. That, folks, is a credibility problem." 

Cotton and Perdue's account also seemed to conflict with that of Graham. South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott told The Post and Courier Friday that Graham confirmed to him that the comments as reported were "basically accurate."

"Following comments by the President, I said my piece directly to him yesterday," Graham later said in a statement. "The President and all those attending the meeting know what I said and how I feel. I've always believed that America is an idea, not defined by its people but by its ideals."

Some of Durbin's Democratic colleagues came to his defense Sunday, with Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia saying that the idea that Durbin or Graham would "make something up" was wrong.

"I don't believe that any senator would walk in and make something up so atrocious as that, and say this is what was said, when it wasn't said," Manchin said on "Face The Nation."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer went further, tweeting, "To impugn @SenatorDurbin's integrity is disgraceful. Whether you agree with him on the issues or not, he is one of the most honorable members of the Senate." 

As the back-and-forth continued Sunday, Trump tweeted that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, at the center of negotiations after his administration ended the policy temporarily protecting "Dreamers" in September, is "probably dead" - casting further doubts on already tenuous and strained negotiations.