Residents living near a giant chimney in a housing structure in Redwood City have obtained evacuation orders from San Mateo County officials, but many have opted to stay close to home.
Several neighbors expressed fears about the fires because of the ashfall, which caused “at least a dozen small unique fires . . . on rooftops, fences and grass,” according to Menlo Park Fire Chief Mark Lorenzo.
“There were other people evacuated, guys on the roof, spraying their houses to make sure their belongings didn’t catch fire,” said Nathan, who lives near the fire. “It’s anything you see in a movie or anything that’s happening. “somewhere else, but you never realize it’s going to be so close to home. “
“Everyone here is great, so we’re all learning,” said Alexis, who lives in an evacuated neighborhood. “We doused the ceilings with water and other things. Firefighters arrived quickly. “
Óscar Mendoza also stayed home because the fire caused several burning fabrics and hot ashes to fall onto his lawn.
“A lot of things were flying everywhere. So the first thing we did was we started wetting our cars and our roof,” Mendoza said. “They expelled everybody, they started evacuating everybody. But honestly, man, as you can see, a lot of other people didn’t need to evacuate because they had a lot of money inside the space. . . They all just freaked out, man. I saw a mother trying to get into the space because her circle of relatives was there and I guess they wouldn’t. Let him go. But I think in this situation, you don’t think about that either. Go see your families.
The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office has opened a transitional evacuation center at the Veterans Memorial Senior Center. Refreshments, water and temporary shelter have been provided to displaced families.
The transient evacuation site closed at 6 p. m. as most families were able to return home, according to the county sheriff’s office.