Grand jury calls on county to prepare for the worst

By NATALIE HOFFMAN
Register Staff Writer

The Napa County Grand Jury called on the Napa County Office of Emergency Services this week to better prepare for a Bay Area emergency, guessing that Napa County would likely be a haven for urban disaster refugees.

Recommendations ranged from implementing a Community Emergency Response Team training program in public schools to boosting the number of locals who have met national CERT standards from about 1,200 to 2,000.

The grand jury also recommended allocating a local building for exclusive use as an emergency operations center — a command station for disaster management. Right now the Napa County Board of Supervisors’ meeting room on Third Street in Napa doubles as the county’s emergency response hub. The room has a capacity for less than 100 people.

Napa County residents are no strangers to emergencies such as floods and fires in the valley.

But the grand jury report suggested that following potential large-scale emergencies in heavily populated areas of the Bay Area, Napa County would likely become a “lifeboat” for disaster refugees.

In the report, the grand jury recommended that “specific plans (be) prepared to deal with this eventuality” by making changes to the county’s existing Emergency Operations Plan.

Earthquakes topped the list of the county’s most severe potential emergencies, “followed by floods and dam failure,” the report states.

In preparation for possible large-scale emergencies, the grand jury recommended increased security and law enforcement presence at drills conducted by Napa County Health and Human Services and other agencies.

The report contained county and municipal government proposals to expand the disaster plan to better prepare for possible emergencies. The estimated annual cost for implementing the proposals totaled $3,485,000, while additional one-time project costs were projected at $74.5 million.

Elizabeth Emmett, public information officer for Napa County, said the county will present its response to the Napa County Board of Supervisors in a timeframe consistent with legal requirements.

The report is available online at www.napacourt.com.

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