We present Spitzer-IRAC, NOAO 2.1meter-Flamingos, Keck-NIRC, and
FCRAO-SEQUOIA observations of the massive star forming complex S254-S258,
covering an area of 25x20 arc-minutes. Using a combination of the IRAC and NIR
data, we identify and classify the young stellar objects (YSO) in the complex.
We detect 510 sources with near or mid IR-excess, and we classify 87 Class I,
and 165 Class II sources. The YSO are found in clusters surrounded by isolated
YSO in a low-density distributed population. The ratio of clustered to total
YSO is 0.8. We identify six new clusters in the complex. One of them,
G192.63-00, is located around the ionizing star of the HII region S255. We
hypothesize that the ionizing star of S255 was formed in this cluster. We also
detect a southern component of the cluster in HII region S256. The cluster
G192.54-0.15, located inside HII region S254 has a VLSR of 17 km/s with respect
to the main cloud, and we conclude that it is located in the background of the
complex. The structure of the molecular cloud is examined using 12CO and 13CO,
as well as a near-IR extinction map. The main body of the molecular cloud has
VLSR between 5 and 9 km/s. The arc-shaped structure of the molecular cloud,
following the border of the HII regions, and the high column density in the
border of the HII regions support the idea that the material has been swept up
by the expansion of the HII regions.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa