First responders and survivors of the Los Angeles County wildfires spoke at the San Mateo County Event Center on Saturday to share their experiences and help the community get prepared.
"When the Palisades fire happened, I thought, 'My gosh, the topography is similar, it could happen here,'" said Jackie Speier, San Mateo County supervisor. "So I didn’t want this horrific set of circumstances to go unaddressed because people have a heightened awareness."
Watch NBC Bay Area News free wherever you are
WATCH HEREMore than 40 different agencies set up tables with resources and spoke on topics from defensible space to insurance. The gathering was the county's first "Be Wildfire Safe and Ready" event.
"People that came in here today are going to leave with much more information and hopefully motivated to do the things that can make them not just safe, but make them in a position to help others in their communities as well," Speier said.
Bill McGuffin of Belmont said he is worried about what could happen as warmer, drier months move in.
"My wife has been bugging me for a long time to clean up the yard, and so we came here to find out about what is available to us," he said.
Panelists also spoke on how to be wildfire-ready. Many shared their experiences from evacuating to lessons learned.
Local
Heather Vandenberghe had to evacuate quickly as the Palisades Fire tore through her neighborhood. She said she's glad she left important documents in a convenient place ready to go.
"I put them all in a lock box with a handle, and I left them in the car next to where my car is parked so that if I ever had to run, I could grab it and throw it in the car," she said. "I am grateful for that because we were out in probably 10 minutes from when we decided to leave."
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news with the Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
SIGN UP 