Fires break out in Diamond Bar, threatening homes; 2 people detained [Updated]

Multiple fires broke out along the 60 Freeway in Diamond Bar today, threatening homes, causing traffic backups and prompting a massive response from firefighters.

More than 250 firefighters and numerous aircraft battled what appeared to be eight fires that were reported around 11:45 a.m. in the hills south of the 60 Freeway between the 57 and 71 freeways. No homes were  lost, but the flames came close to several upscale hillside subdivisions.

Students at Diamond Ranch High School took shelter in the gymnasium and prepared to be evacuated if needed, but Pomona Unified School District officials said the campus was not threatened by the fire.

The water drops significantly reduced the spread of the fires, which appeared to be dying down as of about 1:30 p.m.

The California Highway Patrol was dispatched to the reports of at least five spot fires. The first came at 11:45 this morning, reporting a “small fire on the right shoulder of the eastbound 60 Freeway at the Northbound 57 Freeway.”

The brush fire consumed at least 50 acres, said Maria Antuna, a spokeswoman with Los Angeles County Fire Department.

There are 23 fire engines on the scene and four helicopters are dropping water over the blaze, Antuna said.

Lanes on the 60 Freeway were closed so firefighters could battle the fires.

[Updated at 2 p.m. : Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials said they have detained the driver and passenger of a pickup truck that they believe is responsible for the fires.

A small fire started in the bed of the pickup truck and the two people in the cab didn't realize it, said Sgt. Diane Hecht. Burning debris flew out of the bed at multiple points, starting fires in the brush. Sheriff’s and fire investigators are continuing to investigate, Hecht said.]

[Updated at 3:17 p.m.: Fire officials said the blaze is now 60% contained. Retha Quince was driving home about 11:40 a.m. when she saw smoke rising from several different fires along the 60 Freeway in Diamond Bar.

"It looked like every 500 yards someone had taken a Molotov cocktail and thrown it off the freeway," she said. Quince, 40, immediately headed to nearby Diamond Ranch High School, where her 15-year-old daughter, Raven, is a sophomore. But Quince and many other parents were not allowed past a roadblock set up by authorities in front of the school's only entrance.

Dozens of nervous parents stood on a smoky freeway overpass on Phillips Ranch Road talking on cellphones and to each other.

For mother Laura Perez, 38, the inability to see her 15-year-old son Cristian was frustrating. He had called her from his cellphone earlier. "He sounded afraid," she said. "I wish I could be there for him." Some students, like freshman Jaclyn Martinez, managed to be picked up by parents who navigated around the roadblock.

Jaclyn, 15, said she had been eating lunch outside when people began running to see the smoke. "Some kids were panicking," she said. "I held my sweatshirt over my mouth the whole time." Students were taken to the football field until the smoke appeared to encroach upon the area and were then moved to the indoor gym, Jaclyn said.]

More photos: Diamond Bar fires

Your Scene: Submit photos from the fire area

--Tony Barboza and Raja Abdulrahim in Los Angeles, Corina Knoll in Diamond Bar

Photo: A fire fighting aircraft makes a  water drop near Diamond Ranch High School after a brush fire erupted along the Pomona / Diamond Bar border. Credit: Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times

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Comments

[stewart]

the ol pick up bed on fire the passengers didnt know about cause they only throw their lit cigarette butts out the window instead? trick is it again?
what kind of nit wit doesnt realize his vehicle is on fire?

[hal9000]

oops i forgot... it is flippen dry today... coincidence?

[Liz Rowley]

So if the person of the truck was un aware that his truck started the fire does that make him legally responsible or does he get a slap on the wrist, either way hate to be that guy

[Susana]

No danger?????? My brother goes to Diamond Ranch and they had them out in the field long enough for student to start coughing because of the smoke and to feel threatened enought by the proximity of the fire to push past school officials and run down the hill for parents to pick them up. You guys should know better than to rely on the school's statement. Some journalism.

[James]

Im thinking the guy either threw his cigarette out the window and it landed in the bed of his truck and lit some garbage on fire, or he rutinley throws cigarette buts in his truck before he get in the cab. Either way, sounds weird. How did they even find the guy?

[Astonished]

So, I guess that warm feeling he was experiencing wasn't the love after all!

[Jerome]

I witnessed a lot of this from my home in Walnut this afternoon. It was scary! I saw the Super Scoopers flying overhead and quite low I'm so grateful to the firefighters for their hard work, and everyone else who brought this situation under control.

[Suzanne Donnelly]

I agree with Susana - this was not handled that well by Diamond Ranch at all. Staff were giving contradictory information to students before police put the campus on lockdown protocol, and the school's phone system wasn't working at all. PUSD district staff couldn't answer our questions, and we had to rely on TV news for updates, and that wasn't reliable either. My husband ended up circling the area for over an hour before finally reaching the school just before 3pm to sign our son out. In the meantime, our other son's elementary school, Golden Springs, was *also* on lockdown - but there was no notification. When everyone got home, there finally were messages from the school on our answering system, but those messages were time-stamped after 3pm. My son told us that initially staff told him to "carpool" off campus with a senior (who we didn't know!) who had a car. The police stopped the cars of departing students and made non-drivers return to the school to shelter in place and follow the lockdown rules.