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Findings and Recommendations 7 findings
F1
The Napa County Grand Jury finds that:
The fires that ravaged the North Bay during October 2017 were the most destructive in our history. Given the dry, ferocious winds, warm temperature, and our natural landscape, fires were predictable. Yet, there were no Nixle alerts preceding the fires.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
Nixle or other alerts should always be sent out when there is an official red flag weather warning. The Napa County OES manager should investigate automating this capability in certain severe situations. Additionally, when this type of warning goes out, there should be notification sent to the Emergency Operations Center team to be prepared to turn up the center in the event a fire or other disaster erupts. Both recommendations should be addressed
F2
The Napa County Grand Jury finds that:
Reliance on the Nixle cellular communications platform proved to be insufficient in warning Napa County residents in a timely and accurate way. A small percentage of residents, and very few visitors, were registered, and for those in the danger areas, it became moot as the cell infrastructure quickly became inoperable.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
Napa County OES should lead the effort to order and deploy iPaws, which will enable use of Wireless Emergency Alerts, throughout Napa County now that the FCC has mandated that it be improved. Further, OES should develop a check list and detailed procedures to coordinate its use among the multiple alert platforms and operators
F3
The Napa County Grand Jury finds that:
The understaffed OES personnel was initially hampered by the fire's fury and location, causing delay in issuing the first Nixle alert.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
Napa County should investigate or commission plans to deploy where feasible other alert and warning technologies such as mobile and fixed sirens, aerial drones, etc. to reach more residents in the event of power or cellular communications loss of service
F4
The Napa County Grand Jury finds that:
While Napa County OES, the Sheriff’s Department, the Fire Department, and other public safety agencies' have developed versions of disaster action and hazard mitigation plans, information about emergency alerts and warnings from these agencies is lacking.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
Increase staffing for Napa County Office of Emergency Services through grants or reallocation of budgets for emergency response planning, education and training, and to update and expand written alert and warning policies and procedures on the appropriate public websites
F5
The Napa County Grand Jury finds that:
Since power, Internet and cell towers were lost in many areas of Napa County, local radio station KVON provided a valuable platform for fire updates, evacuation locations, and critical information from public officials.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
Napa County should negotiate an agreement, in conjunction with the County’s municipalities, to formally incorporate plans to utilize local radio station KVON into existing and future Disaster and Hazard mitigation plans in the County
F6
The Napa County Grand Jury finds that:
Proposed legislation in Sacramento is focused on numerous issues regarding disaster planning, including standardizing the approach to alerts since many disasters cross county lines.
No recommendations for this finding
F7
The Napa County Grand Jury finds that:
The professional, coordinated and extraordinary response by Napa County OES, law enforcement and fire personnel, focused on saving lives and livestock, resulted in minimal loss of life despite what the Napa County Fire Chief described as a "once in a lifetime" fire.
No recommendations for this finding
Conclusions 1
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CL1 Page 11None of these fires could have been slowed or put out due to the combination of variables that made them unstoppable: warm temperatures, extremely high winds, low humidity, mountainous terrain, and abundant fuel. According to CAL FIRE, this event was overwhelming, and there just were not enough resources. All told, the Tubbs, Atlas Peak, and the Partrick/Nunn’s fires resulted in 1,051 structures lost or severely damaged, of which 611 were homes. In addition, 69,274 acres burned just in Napa County alone. Tragically, but miraculously, only 7 seven people died. State Senator Bill Dodd (Napa), who was evacuated from his home during the fires, said the system’s deficiencies need to be looked at closely. “I think this warrants an investigation on why that happened,” Dodd said. “We know because of climate change the fire season will be longer, so we need to build a robust system to handle the need. There are a lot of lessons we will learn from these events, from notification of people in their homes to mutual aid.”4 The fact that so few died in the most ferocious fire of our time, certainly speaks highly of the dedicated, well-trained professionals in firefighting, law enforcement, emergency personnel, and partners around the state. The relationships they have established over the years ensured the best outcome in a terrible situation. Further, the Grand Jury recognizes the many brave citizens of 4 San Francisco Chronicle, “Lawmakers to investigate response to Wine Country fire,” Nov. 20, 2017 11 Napa County who took it upon themselves to help their neighbors flee the fires and comfort those who were physically, financially, and emotionally affected.
No Responses Found 2
Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.
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