All evacuation orders have been downgraded to six fire alarms. Residents in the Woodside and Portola Valley areas will have to wait to smell smoke from the fire for the next 72-96 hours as crews continue to conquer the full containment, fire officials said. During a briefing Tuesday, officials said the fire was burning in a north-northwesterly direction north of Canada Road and crews were working actively to protect homes at risk of fire. Officials say a firefighter was injured in the blaze and was taken to hospital. Their condition is currently unknown. Many services are helping to deal with the fire, which includes air support, a CAL FIRE spokesman said. CAL FIRE confirmed that the fire was very close to houses. “We hit it very hard yesterday with planes. We have a good line around it. We scraped the ground so the fire could not cross,” said CAL FIRE battalion commander Bob Simmons. Kathy Hibbs and her family decided to leave after 2:30 p.m. He described seeing smoke and flames as they left. “We heard a report because someone was on one of the helicopters. It was basically 200 feet from the sidewalk. Which is terribly close,” Hibbs said. VIDEO: Evacuation orders lifted after San Mateo Co fires Leo’s son started the action helping the family to pack their bags without knowing if she would return home “We had a checklist I was going through and we were just shouting at each other, what should we do, what should I do,” said Leo Gray. On the block, Bruce Baker decided to stay behind. He has lived in the neighborhood for 40 years and said this was their closest call. “I can not imagine people losing their homes. In Paradise, in Chico and Santa Rosa. It falls into the house now more than ever,” Baker said. Bruce described hearing something like an explosion around 2:20 p.m. and then they lost power. “I heard a big bang,” Baker said. As PG&E crews could be seen in the area. Luz Penia: “Any idea what might have caused this fire?” CAL FIRE Battalion Commander Bob Simmons: “I have researchers here right now. We are working hard to determine the cause of the fire.” For many residents, Tuesday’s fire was a close call that reminded them of the importance of always being prepared with an evacuation plan. Firefighters initially responded to two fires shortly after 2:20 p.m. on Edgewood Road and Crestview Drive and the California Highway Patrol reported visible smoke from Interstate Highway 280. All evacuation orders have been downgraded to alerts. See the map below for the latest update: Having trouble loading the map above? Click here to open it in a new window. The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office has relocated the evacuation and reunification center from Cañada College Theater to Veterans Memorial Senior Center in Redwood City. Stanford University also reported effects as a result of the fire, with power outages affecting many parts of the campus due to a damaged PG&E transmission line, school officials said on Twitter. Smoke from the fire may be visible from campus, but there is no danger to campus as of late Tuesday afternoon, Stanford officials said. According to the PG&E website, thousands of customers are without power in areas of San Mateo County, including areas in the evacuation zone. San Mateo County Parks tweeted that Edgewood Park was closed due to a fire in part of the park. Videos and images sent to ABC7 by viewers showed smoke rising from the hillside where the fire started, which was visible from Alamenta. Fortunately, CAL FIRE says no construction has been damaged or lost in this fire. The cause of the fire is unknown at this time. For a better experience, click here to see the full map in a new window RELATED STORIES & VIDEO: Bay City News contributed to this article. Stay tuned to ABC7 News for the latest details on this growing story. Copyright © 2022 KGO-TV. All rights reserved.
