Jessica Slawson was having dinner out with family about 6 p.m. on July 8 when her work phone unexpectedly rang.

It was Rolling Hills Estates Assistant City Manager Alexa Davis with the news that would turn so many lives on the Palos Verdes Peninsula upside down this summer.

“There was some cracking and movement going on at Peartree Lane and evacuations may start soon,” Slawson said of the message that was relayed to her. “And we had to quickly get to City Hall and mobilize.”

Slawson, a 8-year city management analyst who was raised in the South Bay, would be up much of that night.

She, along with other city workers, made and served coffee, brought in take-out dinners and snacks as at least a dozen stunned homeowners filed into the council chambers.They were up until midnight as many of their home began their slow slide toward what was a steep canyon.

Those city workers became residents’ immediate counselors, resource advisors — and, mostly, listeners.

“There were so many questions that I couldn’t provide” answers to immediately, Slawson said. “It was really just sitting down and talking to them, asking, ‘Are you OK? Do you have anyone you can call?’”

What was a sudden, massive landslide immediately destroyed 12 houses in the gated community on Peartree Lane, giving residents only minutes to grab what they could and evacuate as quickly as possible.

The homes were leaning and crumbling, with one of them eventually falling more than 20 feet into a canyon below.

It left those residents in shock, for the most part, grappling with the possibility of losing most everything so suddenly.

“We had staff available and sitting with the families coming in, some people had things in their cars,” said Slawson, who was credited by Davis as going above and beyond when it came to assisting families.

Chairs were brought in for folks to sit for as long as they needed.

It was probably around midnight before the place cleared out.

Randy Troy, a Peartree Lane resident whose home was pancaked by the landslide, during interviews never failed to mention city workers.

“The city, they’ve been really angels to us,” Troy said, adding that it was readiness with a hug that meant the most to him and his wife Rina, in the early days.

In the immediate aftermath, hotels and lodging needed to be found and secured, something city officials were busy doing throughout that first evening.

There were tears and immense stress and confusion.

There also were moments of respite.

“We had one family come in with their dog,” Slawson said, adding they were the first to come in. “I said, ‘Hi, buddy,’ and they said that was (actually) his name. They came in so overwhelmed and here was this little dog sitting on their lap.”

Davis credits Slawson with helping to organize the emergency response team, working with Los Angeles County officials to put them in touch with specific residents.

“She worked hand-in-hand with (the) County OEM (Office of Emergency Management) for logistics and reached out to local community organizations to invite them to be there.”

For three days, Davis said, Slawson, who describes herself as a “behind-the-scenes” person, was instrumental in coordinating the immediate assistance to help the residents impacted.

“We’re hoping our team can bring a little light in that personal recovery,” Slawson said, noting the Red Onion and other restaurants supplied dinners for several days as families gathered to figure out their next steps. “It’s amazing to see the resiliency of the community and the outpouring of support for the families.”

While Rolling Hills Estates is a “small, close community,” she said, this has helped City Hall and the residents become much closer.

“I’d never met any of those people before,” she said. “This was more than just a phone call for city staff members, it was literally seeing somebody just minutes after they’ve lost everything and working with residents every day.”

Far from the typical work days filled with writing and analyzing government reports, planning city and park events, and carrying out other background administrative tasks, the intense, hands-on call to duty left many city workers exhausted but newly inspired, she said.

“The devastation was difficult to watch,” Slawson said. “Sometimes things can just happen out of nowhere. And it’s hard to think about the losses that people experienced. It was very emotional.”

But, she added: “It’s definitely left me with a sense of the importance of (providing direct) community support, especially from a local city.”

And Buddy? He became something of a City Hall regular, showing up with his owners at the dinners the city sponsored for displaced residents throughout the weeks following the disaster.

The dinners provided by area restaurants were times when families and city workers could gather for fellowship, updates and to share any new information on the recovery process.

“Who’s not going to love this little guy?” Slawson said of Buddy being part of those gatherings.

“(Everyone) had lost so much but it was almost like (Buddy’s humans) were coming back just to let us have a little pet therapy.”