Redwood City fire unnerves neighbors living near construction site
Residents living near a large fire at an affordable-housing construction site in Redwood City were issued evacuation orders by San Mateo County officials, but many chose to stay near their homes.
Multiple neighbors expressed concerns about fires starting from falling ashes, which resulted in "at least a dozen small spot fires... on roofs, fences, grass lots," according to Menlo Park Fire Chief Mark Lorenzo.
"You had people evacuated, guys on the roof, spraying their houses down to make sure their stuff didn't catch on fire," said Nathan, who lives near the fire. "It's something you see in a movie or something that happens somewhere else, but you never realize it's going to be this close to where you're staying at."
"Everyone here is cool, so we all just let each other know (about the fire)," Alexis, who lives in an evacuated neighborhood, said. "We started spraying the roofs with water and stuff. The fire department got here quick."
Oscar Mendoza also decided to stay home because several burning materials and hot ash flew onto his yard from the fire.
"A lot of stuff was flying all over. So the first thing we did, we started wetting our cars and our roof," Mendoza said. "They kicked everybody out, they started evacuating everybody. But honestly, man, as you can see, a lot of people didn't want to evacuate because they have so much valuable stuff inside the house... Everyone was just freaked out man. I saw a mother trying to go inside the house cause her family was over there and I guess they were not allowing her to go over there. But I think in this situation, you're not thinking about it either. You just want to go see your families."
The San Mateo County Sheriff's Office opened a temporary evacuation center at the Veterans Memorial Senior Center. Snacks, water, and temporary shelter were provided for displaced families.
The temporary evacuation site was closed by 6 p.m., as most families were able to return home, according to the county sheriff's office.
