Former LA Fire Chief Takes Legal Action Against Bass Over Palisades Inferno Fallout

A former LA Fire Chief is alleging Democrat Mayor Karen Bass orchestrated a campaign to shift blame for the 2025 Palisades Fire onto her.

Former LAFD Chief Kristen Crowley filed a legal claim Wednesday against the Democratic Los Angeles mayor, sparking new allegations regarding retaliation. The Palisades Fire erupted in January 2025, ultimately killing 12 people and drawing sharp criticism of city leadership, including Bass and Crowley. Just a month after the blaze, Bass announced Crowley’s firing, citing her failure to deploy firefighters to both the Pacific Palisades and Altadena, where a second deadly fire had broken out.

In her claim, Crowley alleges Bass pinned responsibility for the devastating fire on her, despite Bass facing scrutiny for being out of the country in Ghana when the fires started. In a statement provided to ABC7 from a firm representing Crowley, the former chief’s representatives alleged Bass fired her not for any failure in duty but because Crowley “told the truth.”

“The claim sets out a pattern of dishonesty, scapegoating, and unlawful retaliation that destroyed the career of a 25-year public servant not because of any failure in her duties, but because she told the truth,” the statement to the outlet said.

“The tort claim makes clear that Fire Chief Crowley did her job. She told City leadership and the public that Mayor Bass’ budget cuts and the City’s decades of neglect had left the LAFD underfunded, understaffed, and ill-equipped to handle the rising demands of a growing city, especially one at risk of dangerous wildfires,” the statement added. “Instead of addressing those concerns, Mayor Bass retaliated.”