Firefighters battled a fast-spreading fire that broke out along Piedra Morada Drive in Pacific Palisades Tuesday morning and had spread to more than 2,900 acres by evening.

The fire, which broke out around 10:30 a.m., damaged homes and forced thousands to evacuate. Some residents had to park their cars on the side of the road as they tried to escape. The cause of the fire was not initially clear.

forecast

Wind gusts of 50 to 70 miles per hour were recorded in Los Angeles on Tuesday. The National Weather Service said strong northerly winds are expected around the fire at least through Wednesday, with peak speeds of 35 to 60 miles per hour between 10 p.m. Tuesday and 5 a.m. Wednesday.

Evacuations

• Mandatory evacuation orders were issued north to Mulholland Drive, east to Kenter Avenue and south to Pacific Coast Highway.

Shelters

• Westwood Recreation Center, 1350 S. Sepulveda Blvd. The animal shelter also takes in small animals.
• An emergency shelter for large animals has been set up at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center, 480 Riverside Drive, Burbank.

Road closures

• Southbound Pacific Coast Highway is closed at Topanga Canyon Boulevard
• The southbound Pacific Coast Highway is closed at Las Flores Canyon Road
• Coastline Drive and Pacific Coast Highway southbound at Coastline Drive

Schools

All schools in Malibu, part of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, will remain closed Wednesday.

Santa Monica schools in the district remain open, but this could change depending on further events. School district officials said they would make a final decision by 6 a.m., but parts of Santa Monica were under an evacuation order or warning as of Tuesday evening.

Santa Monica College announced its Malibu campus will close Wednesday.

The Los Angeles Unified School District said that due to fire activity and weather conditions, the following schools are closed or moving:

• Canyon Elementary School, Palisades Charter Elementary School, Kentor Canyon Elementary Charter, Marquez Charter Elementary School and Paul Revere Charter Middle School will close.
• All closed schools will provide digital academic content on Wednesday.
• Topanga Elementary Charter School students should report to Woodland Hills Academy at 20800 Burbank Blvd, Woodland Hills.

Affected schools communicate directly with families. Please visit lausd.org for updates. If families need additional support, please call the school district’s family hotline at (213) 443-1300.

Several schools are closed due to the Eaton Fire, which broke out in Altadena on Tuesday evening. You can find a list of school closures here.