Fire On the Mountain The Closure of Old Howell Mountain Road: The Effect on Angwin Residents

Many Angwin residents interviewed stated they did not recall having received notice prior to the Napa County Board of Supervisors’ ‘yes vote’ in favor of keeping Old Howell Mountain Road closed. The Grand Jury is aware that under the Brown Act, no more than 72 hours’ notice of any agenda item is required. But depite repeated efforts, the Grand Jury was unable to confirm that even so minimal a notice occurred. Moreover, given the level of local concern about Old Howell Mountain Road, more prominent notice and even the opportunity for a public hearing would have been appropriate. Had this happened, years of concern and confusion could have been avoided.

These residents believe that they did not receive an explanation of why Old Howell Mountain was not repaired and they were not adequately represented in the decision-making process.

The residents of Angwin have been impacted multiple times by evacuations due to wildfires and want to have as many evacuation routes as possible, in order to avoid a tradgedy like the Paradise, California scenario.

The Napa County Board of Supervisors caused unnecessary mistrust in their local government by not sufficiently communicating with Angwin-area residents regarding the closure of Old Howell Mountain Road.

Multiple agencies, including , Napa County Office of Emergency Services, Napa County Public Works, CalFire, Napa County Fire Department and local construction companies have deemed the road unrepairable, due to a nearly three-mile long section of unstable ground and other hazards; however, the Napa County Office of Emergency Services and the Napa 1 Only after careful research was the Grand Jury able to find a general reference to Howell Mountain Road on the December 8, 2020 Board of Supervisors meeting agenda. Item 10B included the following: “Director of Public Works requests discussion and possible direction on the status of Old Howell Mountain Road.” Supporting Documents and a Roads 4 Year Plan were also referenced. Public comments by one resident were not read but added subsequently after the meeting. There was no mention of a final vote. County Board of Supervisors did not effectively communicate to the public their reasons for their decision not to repair the road.