San Mateo County emergency officials told Woodside residents on Aug. 30 that they are updating training, templates and testing for the SMC Alert system after a vehicle fire on Interstate 280 that spread to nearby vegetation prompted questions about why some residents did not receive alerts.

Ryan Reynolds, assistant director for San Mateo County Emergency Management, told the town hall the county distinguishes ‘‘information’’ (broad, non‑urgent messages) from ‘‘alerts’’ that ask people to prepare or take action. SMC Alert is an opt‑in system that delivers email, text and voice messages to registered accounts; for immediate evacuations officials typically use Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) via iPAWS, which reach all devices in a targeted cell‑tower area.

Residents reported mixed experiences receiving messages during the Aug. 30 I‑280 incident. County and local officials said the divergence stemmed in part from two different agencies using different geographic maps when they sent messages: the fire agency used a smaller map it considered tactically appropriate at the time, while the sheriff’s office used a larger area. That mismatch meant some people were included in one outbound alert but not the other.

‘‘There needs to be better coordination between agencies in a circumstance like this,’’ said Ray Mueller, San Mateo County supervisor and the meeting’s moderator. Officials said they will pursue clearer unified‑command protocols, standard templates and more frequent exercises so sender agencies operate from consistent guidance.

The county said it has already taken steps: it updated message templates with a message‑design consultant, is rolling out standardized templates for about 40 hazard categories, and is instituting annual sender point‑of‑contact checks and twice‑yearly tests. Reynolds urged residents to verify their SMC Alert profiles and contact information and noted the county can accept re‑registrations if residents are worried about older accounts.

Residents asked for ‘‘all‑clear’’ messages when incidents are contained. Officials said guidance calls for issuing an all‑clear but noted that confirming containment can take time and officials must avoid prematurely telling people a hazard is over. They also acknowledged limits on county authority over the many senders: ‘‘We don’t really have authority to remove people from the system,’’ Reynolds said, and individual agency accountability rests in part with the hiring jurisdiction or board that oversees each agency.

Several residents suggested adding a single public dashboard or app to check incident status (WatchDuty was mentioned by speakers as an existing resource) and urged more frequent testing and exercises to ensure senders can coordinate mapping and messaging in real time. Officials said unified command will decide which notification channel to use for immediate threats and that SMC Alert remains valuable for targeted advisories, but that iPAWS/WEA are the fastest way to reach everyone in an area when immediate evacuation or shelter‑in‑place orders are needed.

Town and county officials thanked first responders for containing the incident and said they will pursue after‑action items. Reynolds offered to add interested residents to a distribution list for traffic advisories and project updates, and Woodside staff said they will share contact information for county emergency‑management staff.

Ending: County officials committed to policy updates, enhanced templates and regular training and testing for SMC Alert senders, and urged residents to confirm registration data to improve the odds of receiving future targeted alerts.