The massive Thomas brush fire in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties is poised to become the largest in the state's history.
At midday Monday, the fire was 270,500 acres, and 45% contained. The 2003 Cedar Fire in San Diego County is the largest, at 273,000 acres according to Cal Fire officials. The Thomas fire could be pushed to largest by a series of intentional burns off of Highway 33 about 10 miles north of Ojai. With wind calm, the plan is to burn off more than 10,000 acres of land to remove fuel from the fire, and to help stop its growth.
Smoke from the burnoff activity is visible from parts of Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties, with a large plume of black smoke in the back country.
Meanwhile, there is little wind and no problems reported in Santa Barbara's front country, and in the Fillmore area, which were areas of concern Sunday.
