Los Angeles mayor fires LAFD chief who blamed officials' incompetence for disastrous wildfire response

Karen Bass, Democratic mayor of Los Angeles, announced Friday that she was firing the chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department after a barrage of criticism over the response to recent historic wildfires.

Critics have lambasted local officials after the wildfires killed at least 29 people and destroyed over 16,000 structures while forcing the evacuation of 200,000 people at one point. One estimate places the economic loss from the wildfires to be over $50 billion.

'We can no longer sustain where we are. We do not have enough firefighters.'

Mayor Karen Bass appeared to try to relieve some of the pressure by putting the blame on LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley.

“Bringing new leadership to the Fire Department is what our city needs,” said Bass. “We know that 1,000 firefighters that could have been on duty on the morning the fires broke out were instead sent home on Chief Crowley’s watch."

Bass also claimed that Crowley refused to prepare an "after-action report" on the fires.

The mayor has faced fierce criticism over her absence from the city as the fires sparked the most destructive natural disaster in Los Angeles history. Bass had gone on a trip to Ghana to attend the inauguration of President John Dramani Mahama despite having officials warn residents about the possibility of "life-threatening" winds before she left.

The damage from the wildfires was exacerbated by the loss of water pressure in some fire hydrants reported by firefighters during the conflagration. Critics pointed to a reservoir that could have fed water in the emergency response but had been emptied for the sake of maintenance and repairs.

Crowley had revealed in January that the fire department had been asking for more resources from city officials and had over 100 pieces of firefighting equipment out of commission ahead of the disaster.

"We can no longer sustain where we are. We do not have enough firefighters," said Crowley at the time. "I rang the bell that these additional cuts could be very, very devastating for our ability to provide public safety."

'We need real leadership, not more blame passing.'

Billionaire Rick Caruso, who ran against Bass for mayor, reacted to the firing on social media.

"It is very disappointing that Mayor Bass has decided to fire Chief Kristin Crowley. Chief Crowley served Los Angeles well and spoke honestly about the severe and profoundly ill-conceived budget cuts the Bass administration made to the LAFD," he wrote.

"That courage to speak the truth was brave, and I admire her," Caruso added. "Honesty in a high city official should not be a firing offense. The Mayor's decision to ignore the warnings and leave the city was hers alone. This is a time for city leaders to take responsibility for their actions and their decisions. We need real leadership, not more blame passing."

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