A brush fire that broke out in the hills in Laguna Beach amid high temperatures and winds forced residents to flee their homes early Thursday. The size of the fire was unclear. But it comes during a heat wave that brought temperatures into the 80s on Wednesday. Another hot day was on tap for Thursday, with a wind advisory in effect.The city of Laguna Beach issued an evacuation order for Irvine Cove and Emerald Bay and an evacuation warning for North Laguna, including all residents North of Broadway. It is not clear how many homes have been evacuated. “Homes are currently threatened with the possibility of more structures threatened if the fire spreads,” the city said.Coast Highway is also closed.The fire broke out around 4 a.m. in a wilderness area between Laguna Beach and Emerald Bay near Pacific Coast Highway.Fire officials were battling the fire both on the ground and in the air, with the focus on protecting Emerald Bay homes in the path of the fire.Councilman George Weiss was standing in an empty lot in north Laguna Beach just before 6 a.m. Thursday consulting with firefighters about their plan of attack. He could hear evacuation messages being broadcast over loudspeakers to nearby residents, urging them to leave their homes.“The fire is lodged up in the hills in Emerald Bay and it’s traveling down the slope toward Irvine Cove,” he said. “It’s breezy right now, but if the wind shifts it looks like we’re in trouble.” Laguna Beach school officials said that “out of an abundance of caution, we are canceling school at El Morro Elementary. Once we have further information, we will provide an update.”This is a breaking news story and will be updated.