The fire near Baseline Road is heading uphill, where some homes are located. It has already consumed 40 acres of brush.
Voluntary evacuations were being made, but no mandatory evacuations had been ordered yet. No injuries were reported.
The La Verne fire was one of several burning across Southern California on Sunday, including new blazes in Lucerne Valley and Highland, and the massive Detwiler Fire near Yosemite that has lasted for more than a week, burned thousands of acres and destroyed dozens of homes.