Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and city hall have been radio silent since Bass called for an investigation into the circumstances that led to her flying to Ghana amid warnings that her city was facing elevated wildfire risks.
Despite elevated wildfire risks and previously saying that she would not travel internationally as mayor, Bass ventured to Ghana at the invitation of the Biden administration in January just days before flames engulfed huge swaths of the Los Angeles area. Under heavy scrutiny, Bass subsequently stated that the circumstances that led to her going on the junket should be investigated, but her office did not respond to multiple requests for comment about any progress that may have been made in the weeks since.
Bass appeared to blame her staff for the ill-timed Ghana junket in February, suggesting that she should have been made aware of dangerous conditions so that she would not have left the city for a trip. She also openly suggested that her lack of advance notice should be probed.
“Would I say it was a mistake, absolutely. The idea that I was not present was very painful,” said Bass. She further stated that sufficient “preparation didn’t happen” in advance of her departure for Ghana.
“It didn’t reach that level to me to say ‘Something terrible could happen and maybe you shouldn’t have gone on the trip,’” Bass said. “I think that’s one of the things we need to look at, everything that happened, including that, needs to be examined.”
The Daily Caller News Foundation placed numerous inquiries about the status of the investigation with Bass’ office, including an email to Bass herself. Questions addressed points such as whether any staffers have been disciplined to date and for details about the current state of the probe. None of those questions were answered.
Bass departed for Ghana on Jan. 4 — one day after the national Weather Service put out a “Fire Weather Watch” notice for parts of the city — and returned to Los Angeles on Jan. 8, according to CBS News. The massive fires broke out and spread in the intervening days, with Bass being photographed at a cocktail reception as smoke rose over Los Angeles.
PALISADES FIRE: Complete destruction along PCH @DailyCaller #PalisadesFire | #CaliforniaWildfires pic.twitter.com/VOnV6o4BJM
— Hailey Grace Gomez (@haileyggomez) January 10, 2025
Other forecasts, including those from the National Interagency Fire Center and the California Office for Emergency Services, cautioned that Southern California was at risk for serious fires in January before the blazes began destroying parts of the Los Angeles area.
Bass received sharp criticism for the city’s response and for being out of the country as the fires exploded into a full-fledged disaster. The blazes claimed at least 30 lives and caused up to $250 billion in estimated damages, according to The Los Angeles Times.
Many locals affected by the disaster were livid with Bass and Democrats more broadly for what they perceived to be incompetence, with one irate Californian calling Bass an “idiot” in an interview with the DCNF. Other residents told the DCNF that their community resembled an apocalyptic wasteland after the fires, and some even returned to their homes against the advice of authorities to protect their property.
The city was caught off-guard by the fires, with fire hydrants initially running dry in hard-hit areas as firefighters tried to contain the flames. Other elements of Los Angeles’ municipal governance in advance of the fires — such as its spending to advance left-wing social initiatives, its failure to fill a nearby reservoir and its utility commissioner’s preoccupation with “equity” and the green energy transition — also received heavy scrutiny in the wake of the fires.
Confronted by a reporter in an airport on her way back to the U.S. from Ghana, where she attended the inauguration of the African nation’s president, Bass stayed silent and kept walking as she was asked repeatedly if she had anything to say to her constituents. Tens of thousands of people signed a petition calling for Bass to step down from her job in light of the city’s performance in a time of crisis as the dust settled.
Ultimately, Bass fired former Los Angeles fire chief Kristin Crowley for her failures responding to the disaster.
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