Palisades fire: Evacuations, road closures, shelters, forecast

Firefighters were battling a fast-moving fire that broke out around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday along Piedra Morada Drive in Pacific Palisades.

By Thursday morning, the blaze had grown to over 17,200 acres, burning more than 1,000 homes, businesses and other buildings.

On Tuesday, some residents were forced to leave their cars on the side of the road in their rushed attempts to leave. The blaze has taxed firefighter resources and the local water supply. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Forecast

Wind speeds weakened across the Los Angeles region Thursday morning, with isolated pockets of gusty winds reaching 35 miles per hour in the Malibu area and 58 miles per hour in the San Gabriel Mountains, said Mike Wofford, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

But, the reprieve is expected to be brief. Winds are anticipated to strengthen Thursday night. Much of Los Angeles County remains under a red flag warning, with forecasters warning of critical fire weather.

Evacuations

• Mandatory evacuation orders have been issued for a wide swath of Pacific Palisades and Topanga and a portion of Malibu within the area north to Mulholland Drive, east to Kenter Avenue and south to Pacific Coast Highway.
• Mandatory evacuation orders have been issued in Santa Monica for all areas north of Montana Avenue from the beach to 11th Street.
• Portions of Calabasas and Malibu remained under evacuation warnings.

Shelters

• Westwood Recreation Center, at 1350 S. Sepulveda Blvd. The shelter also accepts small animals.
• El Camino Real Charter High School, at 5440 Valley Circle Blvd., Woodland Hills. The shelter also accepts small animals.
• Pasadena Convention Center, at 300 E. Green St.
• Small animals are being accepted at the following locations:
  • El Camino High School, 5440 Valley Circle Blvd, Woodland Hills
  • Agoura Animal Care Center, 29525 Agoura Road, Agoura Hills
  • Baldwin Park Animal Care Center, 4275 Elton St., Baldwin Park
  • Carson Animal Care Center, 216 W Victoria St., Gardena
  • Castaic Animal Care Center, 31044 Charlie Canyon, Castaic
  • Downey Animal Care Center, 11258 Garfield Ave., Downey
  • Lancaster Animal Care Center, 5210 W. Ave. I, Lancaster
  • Palmdale Animal Care Center, 38550 Sierra Hwy., Palmdale
• Large animals are being accepted at the following locations:
  • Pomona Fairplex, 1101 W. McKinley Ave., Pomona
  • Industry Hills Expo, 16200 Temple Ave., City of Industry
  • L.A. Equestrian, 480 Riverside Drive, Burbank
  • Castaic Animal Care Center, 31044 Charlie Canyon, Castaic

Road closures

• The southbound side of Pacific Coast Highway is closed at Malibu Canyon Road.
• The northbound side of PCH is closed at the McClure Tunnel in Santa Monica.
• PCH is closed in both directions between Yerba Buena Road and State Route 23.
• Topanga Canyon Boulevard is closed in both directions between PCH and Mulholland Drive.
• The westbound 10 Freeway is closed at Lincoln Boulevard and northbound PCH.
• Cold Canyon Road is closed from Piuma Road to Mulholland Highway.
• Malibu Canyon Road is closed from Piuma Road to Pacific Coast Highway.
• Piuma Road is closed from Malibu Canyon Road to Rambla Pacifico Street.
• Rambla Pacifico Street is closed from Piuma Road to PCH.
• Saddle Peak Road is closed from Stunt Road to Tuna Canyon Road.
• Schueren Road is closed from Saddle Peak Road to Piuma Road.
• Stunt Road is closed from Mulholland Highway to Schueren Road.
• Tuna Canyon Road is closed from Saddle Peak Road to PCH.
• Old Topanga Canyon Road is closed from Topanga Canyon Boulevard to Mulholland Highway.
• Mulholland Highway is closed from Lower Brewster Road to Seminole Drive.

Schools

“On Thursday and Friday all UCLA undergraduate classes will be canceled, while graduate classes will pivot to remote instruction.”

Pepperdine University, which was closed Wednesday, will be open for limited operations Thursday with a preference for remote work. “A limited number of graduate classes are in session and students should follow the guidance of their faculty and/or dean’s offices,” a statement said.

All schools are closed Thursday in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District.

All Los Angeles Unified district schools and offices will be closed on Thursday. A decision on whether schools will be in session on Friday is expected to be made by 4 p.m. Thursday.

Meal distribution for LAUSD students will be available from 8 to 11 a.m. Thursday at the following eight sites:

• Mulholland Middle School, 17120 Vanowen St., Lake Balboa
• Sepulveda Middle School, 15330 Plummer St., North Hills
• Hollenbeck Middle School, 2510 E. 6th St., Los Angeles
• South Gate High School, 3351 Firestone Blvd., South Gate
• Fremont High School, 7676 San Pedro St., Los Angeles
• Harry Bridges Span School, 1235 Broad Ave., Wilmington
• Marina del Rey Middle School, 12500 Braddock Drive, Los Angeles
• Sotomayor Art & Sciences Magnet, 2050 N. San Fernando Road, Los Angeles

Affected schools are communicating directly with families, who can visit lausd.org for updates. For additional support, parents can contact the district’s family hotline at (213) 443-1300.

Santa Monica College announced its Malibu campus would be closed through Friday.

Several schools are closed due to the Eaton fire, which broke out Tuesday night in Altadena. See a list of school closures here.