150 Firefighters Called to Fight Brush Fires in Diamond Bar

Brush fires is threatening homes in Diamond Bar, the eastern Los Angeles suburb.

Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Steve Zermeno says fire crews got reports at around 11:45 a.m. Tuesday that five to eight separate fires were burning near State Route 60.

Zermeno says the fires were burning in brushy hills and there are many homes and subdivisions in the area.

Zermeno says about 150 firefighters were called in and authorities also have requested two giant water-dropping aircraft known as Super Scoopers, San Jose Mercury News.

It was also reported, helicopters and SuperScooper airplanes roared low over homes to drop loads of water on the flames in hilly terrain just outside back yards. Lines of widely separated flame moved across rolling grasslands.

Weather appeared to be on firefighters' side, with little wind evident.

County Fire Inspector Steve Zermeno said reports of five to eight separate fires near State Route 60 came in about 11:45. The area is about 25 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.

County firefighters were being aided by local city departments, FOXNews reports.

Meanwhile, a portion of the 60 Freeway has been closed so that fire officials can use lanes to fight the fire. Several people with asthma were being treated at Diamond Ranch High School.

A Pomona Unified School District spokesman did not know whether the high school was being evacuated, The Los Angeles Times reports.