Redwood City fire disrupts neighbors near site

Residents living near a large fire at an affordable housing construction site in Redwood City received evacuation orders from San Mateo County officials, but many chose to stay close to home.

Several neighbors expressed concerns about fires started by falling ash, which caused “at least a dozen small spot fires…on roofs, fences and lawns,” according to the Menlo Park fire chief , Mark Lorenzo.

“There were people evacuated, guys on the roof, dousing their houses to make sure their stuff didn't catch 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 so close to home.”

“Everyone here is cool, so we all find out (about the fire),” said Alexis, who lives in an evacuated neighborhood. “We started dousing the roofs with water and other things. The firefighters arrived quickly.”

Oscar Mendoza also decided to stay at home because several burning materials and hot ashes flew into his yard due to the fire.

“A lot of things were flying everywhere. So the first thing we did, we started getting our cars and our roof wet,” Mendoza said. “They kicked everyone out, they started evacuating everyone. But honestly, man, as you can see, a lot of people didn't want to evacuate because they had so much valuable stuff inside the house… Everyone was just freaked out man. I saw a mother trying to get into the house because her family was there and I guess they weren't allowing her to go there But. I think in this situation, you don't think about it either.

The San Mateo County Sheriff's Office has opened a temporary evacuation center at the Veterans Memorial Senior Center. Snacks, water and temporary shelter were provided to displaced families.

The temporary evacuation site was closed at 6 p.m., with most families able to return home, according to the county sheriff's office.