The Triangle Complex Fire and the Brea Fire have merged and are now burning as one fire between Corona and Brea, south of Diamond Bar.
The biggest threat is in the Tonner Canyon area where dozens of homes are threatened across ridgelines in The Community, as it is know to locals, south of Diamond Bar. Crews are fighting off advancing flames moving north into Los Angeles County.
KCAL/9 TV is reporting that evacuations have begun in Diamond Bar. The fire remains south of Diamond Bar city limits but has burned into Tonner Canyon.
Fire has already swept through Telegraph Canyon and is near cresting ridgelines on Highway 57. LA County authorities are joining the fight now with Orange County to control the blaze. Only 5 percent of the fire has been contained. It has burned at least 10,500 acres.
A merging fire can be a benefit and at the same time dangerous, fire officials say.
Firefighters say the fires could burn over each other and already charred fuel. However, as winds continue to shift, propelling the fire northwest, firefighters now have a new front to battle.
"It may help us, could slow down the burn, but once the wind shifts, it means we have more open line we have to worry about," said Riverside County fire Captain Julie Hutchinson.
Xxx John Asbury
Published: Monday, November 17, 2008