DIAMOND BAR - A fire that destroyed or damaged 259 homes on its weekend march toward Diamond Bar was mostly under control Monday.
Calm winds and increased humidity allowed firefighters to get the upper hand on the Triangle Complex Fire, which started Saturday in Corona and torched 29,000 acres across four counties.
The fire was 60 percent contained by Monday night.
No structures in Diamond Bar were damaged, but the fire caused the evacuation of 1,800 homes along Tonner Canyon.
Residents were allowed to return home Monday.
“They’re just putting out the hot spots and everything,” Diamond Bar Mayor Jack Tanaka said Monday afternoon, and added he was greatly relieved when fire officials told him late Sunday the danger to local homes largely had passed.
More than 3,800 fire officials were working the fire late Monday.
Yorba Linda sustained the brunt of the damage, with 113 homes destroyed and 50 damaged, officials said.
Firefighters likely would be in the area for several days “mopping up,” said Nick Cercello of the Costa Mesa Fire Department, who spoke on behalf of all agencies responding to the fire.
The fire not only spared homes in Diamond Bar, but also skipped over camping facilities in the Firestone Scout Reservation in Tonner Canyon such as tents, a rock climbing wall and obstacle courses.
“The vegetation in that area is very, very dense and very dry, with no fire record for quite some time,” Brown said. “We were dealing with 10- to 15-foot tall brush that is usually four to five feet.”
The dense vegetation combined with extremely low humidity, fierce wind conditions and topography allowed the fire to burn as fast as it did, he said.
The fire flared up early Monday, but crews kept it from crossing a fire break.
Capt. Mike Crandall of the Placer County Fire Department oversaw his crew of firefighters and inmate work crews on the ridgeline about 1:30 p.m. Monday.
The men sweated in the nearly 90-degree weather as they worked to create a fire break by cutting down trees with chain saws and digging trenches.
As wind died down and the ground crews gained more containment of the fire, some fire fighters - who have been battling blazes across Southern California since Thursday - used the down time to lay down or sit in lawnchairs overlooking the canyon.
Other crews used it as an opportunity to talk to residents about fire prevention.
About 11:30 a.m., Highbluff Road resident Irvin Craig received a visit from Los Angeles County Firefighters.
Story by Whittier Daily News
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