LA mayor dismisses fire chief over response to destructive wildfires
The Palisades Fire began during heavy winds on January 7.
Six weeks after the most destructive wildfire in city history, Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass has ousted the city’s fire chief.
It comes amid a public rift over preparations for a potential fire and finger-pointing between Chief Kristin Crowley and City Hall over responsibility for the devastation.
Ms Bass said in a statement that she is removing Chief Crowley immediately.
“Bringing new leadership to the Fire Department is what our city needs,” Ms Bass said in a statement.
“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,” Ms Bass disclosed.
She added that the chief refused a request to prepare an “after-action report” on the fires, which she called a necessary step in the investigation.
The Palisades Fire began during heavy winds January 7, destroying or damaging nearly 8,000 homes, businesses and other structures and killing at least 12 people in the LA neighbourhood.
Another wind-whipped fire started the same day in suburban Altadena, a community to the east, killing at least 17 people and destroying or damaging more than 10,000 homes and other buildings.
Ms Bass has been facing criticism for being in Africa as part of a presidential delegation on the day the fires started, even though weather reports had warned of dangerous fire conditions in the days before she left.
In televised interviews this week, Ms Bass acknowledged she made a mistake by leaving the city.
But she inferred that she was not aware of the looming danger when she jetted around the globe to attend the inauguration of Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama.
She faulted Chief Crowley for failing to alert her about the potentially explosive fire conditions.
Chief Crowley has publicly criticised the city for budget cuts that she said made it harder for firefighters to do their jobs.
She was named fire chief in 2022 by Ms Bass’ predecessor at a time when the department was in turmoil over allegations of rampant harassment, hazing and discrimination.
She worked for the city fire department for more than 25 years and held nearly every role, including fire marshal, engineer and battalion chief.
Billionaire developer Rick Caruso, who was defeated by Ms Bass in the 2022 election and has been critical of her wildfire management, called Chief Crowley’s dismissal “very disappointing”.
The chief “spoke honestly about the severe and profoundly ill-conceived budget cuts the Bass administration made to the LAFD,” Mr Caruso said in a post on the social platform X, formerly Twitter.
“Honesty in a high city official should not be a firing offence.”
