Topline
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Saturday dispelled claims she and Los Angeles Fire Department chief Kristin Crowley are at odds, her latest effort to calm criticism against her after Crowley said Bass had failed her department by issuing nearly $18 million in budget cuts, a move Crowley previously warned could hinder the city’s ability to combat wildfires.
The Los Angeles mayor said none of the budget cuts could have impacted the city’s response to … [+]
Key Facts
During a press conference on Saturday, Bass said she and Crowley are “focused” on putting out the six active fires around Los Angeles County and “any differences that we might have will be worked out in private.”
On Friday, Crowley told Fox 11 the LAFD is not “properly funded,” saying funds that were slashed from the department’s budget for the 2025 fiscal year likely impacted “our ability to provide service.”
Bass approved a budget of nearly $13 billion for the city in June 2024 that included a $17.6 million reduction (2.7%) in the LAFD’s roughly $820 million budget, after Bass initially pushed for $23 million in cuts.
Despite the budget cuts, the city approved an additional $53 million in pay raises for firefighters and another $58 million for new firetrucks and other equipment in November, increasing the LAFD’s budget by more than 7% over the previous fiscal year, the Los Angeles Times reported.
In December, Crowley warned Bass and other Los Angeles County officials that about $7 million had been cut from the LAFD’s overtime budget, saying the reduction had “severely limited” the department’s ability to train, prepare and respond to “large-scale emergencies” like wildfires.
Once the fires have been extinguished, Los Angeles County officials will evaluate the emergency response and provide a “full accounting of what worked and especially, what did not,” Bass said.
Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you’ll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here.
Crucial Quote
“I think if you go back and look at the reductions that have been made, there were no reductions that would have impacted the situation we were dealing with over the last couple of days,” Bass said Thursday.
Did Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass Fire Kristin Crowley?
The LAFD said in a statement to CNN that Crowley had met with Bass on Friday, though Crowley was not dismissed during that meeting and remains in “full command” of the department. The Daily Mail, citing an unspecified source, previously reported Crowley had been fired during this encounter.
Key Background
Wildfires spread across Los Angeles County earlier this week, as the Palisades and Eaton fires have spread to more than 36,000 acres as of Saturday. At least 11 people have died in the fires and 13 are missing, according to county officials, who warned the death toll will likely continue to climb as search efforts ensue. Bass has become the focus of criticism for the county’s emergency response, including from billionaire Rick Caruso, who condemned Bass for being on a planned democratic trip to Ghana. Caruso, who unsuccessfully ran as a Democrat for Los Angeles mayor, also criticized the region’s fire prevention and fighting resources, suggesting “there’s no water coming out of the fire hydrants” because of an inadequately filled reservoir. Tesla CEO Elon Musk piled on, calling Bass “utterly incompetent.”
Big Number
65,196. That’s how many signatures a petition on Change.org calling for Bass to resign has received as of Saturday afternoon. The petition accuses Bass of “gross mismanagement and failure to effectively respond” to the wildfires.
Further Reading
Read the full article here