Mayor Bass Removes Fire Chief After Claiming She Wasn’t Sufficiently Warned About High Winds

If you missed Ed’s post about this on Wednesday you really should go back and read it. The gist is that Mayor Bass gave a local media interview in which she did her best to point the finger of blame at others for the city’s poor response to the wildfires. Notably, Bass claimed that she would never have left the country and flown to Ghana if she’s been sufficiently warned about the danger.

“Before other major weather emergencies, the mayor — or at minimum, the mayor’s chief of staff — has received a direct call from the fire chief, flagging the severity of the situation. This time, that call never came,” Bass spokesperson Zach Seidl said in a statement.

But as Ed pointed out, Bass doesn’t actually claim that she didn’t get warned or that she wasn’t aware of the reports about high winds issued prior to her departure. In the interview she admits she was warned but says no one told her not to go on the trip. That’s her story. No one told the top official in the city not to go so she went. Just to make it crystal clear, he got warnings like these, both of which were posted before she left, and decided it was okay to pop over to Ghana.

There is the potential for moderate to strong #SantaAnaWinds and extreme fire weather conditions, next Tuesday through Thursday. #CAwx pic.twitter.com/lAc7Yy3cMg

— NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) January 3, 2025

A Fire Weather Watch is in effect Tuesday-Friday for portions of LA/Ventura Counties. There is the potential for damaging north to northeast winds, that are likely to peak Tuesday-Wednesday.

With no significant rainfall yet, fire season will continue in to the New Year! #CAwx pic.twitter.com/fahxe7RIpI

— NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) January 3, 2025

Today, we got the next phase of the Mayor’s efforts to shift blame away from herself and her own poor decisions. She fired LA’s fire chief citing her response to the wildfires.

Ms. Bass said in a statement that she had removed Kristin Crowley, the chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department, effective immediately. The announcement came after Ms. Bass said publicly for the first time that she herself made a mistake leaving the country and traveling to Ghana days before the fires broke out — but blamed Ms. Crowley for not alerting her about the impending threat of catastrophic fires…

In announcing the shake-up, the mayor criticized Ms. Crowley for sending home 1,000 firefighters the morning the Palisades fire broke out on Jan. 7. It was the first of two major blazes that destroyed about 12,000 structures combined in Southern California last month. She also accused Ms. Crowley of refusing to pursue an examination of what the fire department might have done wrong leading up to the fires.

“These require her removal,” Ms. Bass said in the statement. “The heroism of our firefighters — during the Palisades fire and every single day — is without question. Bringing new leadership to the Fire Department is what our city needs.”

You may remember that Chief Kristin Crowley is the person who said on camera that the city had failed it’s residents after firefighters were left with no water pressure in hydrants during the fire.

JUST IN: Los Angeles Fire Department chief Kristin Crowley turns on Los Angeles leadership, says they failed her.

Remarkable interview.

Crowley called out the city for having no water in the Santa Ynez Reservoir.

Reporter: “Did the city of Los Angeles fail you and your… pic.twitter.com/fUQPoW32QA

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 10, 2025

Immediately after those comments, Chief Crowley was summoned to Mayor Bass’s office and there were rumors that the chief had been fired. The Mayor had to issue a statement saying that wasn’t true. But clearly Bass was just biding her time. Six weeks later, on a Friday, she fired the Chief and even blamed her for not stopping her from traveling abroad.

Even if you believe the fire chief also did a poor job here, there’s no denying that Mayor Bass did worse. At least the fire chief was in the state when it happened. And even if you somehow believe that Bass wasn’t sufficiently warned before she left (which really isn’t credible), Bass should have returned home once it became very clear the winds were going to be historically bad. But she didn’t do that either. There’s just no way to make Bass’s actions look any better.

Meanwhile, we’re still waiting on the results of Gov. Newsom’s investigation into why the Santa Ynez reservoir in Pacific Palisades was empty before the fire. Maybe he’ll get back to us eventually on that. Will anyone besides Chief Crowley be fired for this disaster? I wouldn’t bet on it. Let’s give Rick Caruso, who a lot of people in LA now realize would have been a better mayor, the last word.

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. That courage to speak the truth was brave, and I admire her. 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.

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. That courage to speak the truth was…

— Rick J. Caruso (@RickCarusoLA) February 21, 2025