California’s top officials have spent the last week playing clean-up after a repeated number of gaffes and outlandish policy slips have been caught on camera as they address the devastating wildfires currently raging in the state.
So far, the state’s top Democratic politicians, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, and California State Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, as well as other officials, have all managed to step on political tripwires when responding to the Los Angeles wildfires, raising questions about their ability to handle the crisis and inaction leading up to the disaster.
The death toll has surged to 24 as of Monday as the five wildfires have spread across 40,000 acres and have left thousands of Californians homeless.
— Hailey Grace Gomez (@haileyggomez) January 9, 2025
1. Los Angeles Fire Chief Lets Slip That City Failed Her Department
LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley cracked under pressure from the press Friday, admitting that the city’s leadership “failed” her organization. The embattled fire chief cited a lack of water and resources to handle the fires.
“Did the city of Los Angeles fail you and your department and our city?” a reporter asked Crowley.
“It is our job to stand up as a chief and exactly say, justifiably, what the fire department needs to operate and meet the demands of the community,” Crowley said, leading the reporter to ask the question again. “That is our job, and I’ll tell you, that’s why I’m here. So let’s get us what we need so our fire fighters can do their jobs.”
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“Did they fail you?” the reporter asked.
“Yes,” Crowley replied.
Bass approved of a budget for the city in June that included a $17.6 million cut of the Los Angeles Fire Department’s (LAFD) budget after she had initially pushed for a $23 million cut, though the city set aside unappropriated funds which ultimately led the fire department to receive $53 million more than last year all in. Crowley wrote to the Board of Fire Commissioners that the budget cuts had “adversely affected” the organization’s ability to handle “core operations” and had “severely limited” their ability to prepare for “large-scale emergencies.
The department’s chief also staunchly supports DEI initiatives and an internal “racial equity plan,” which states that the agency is a stronger organization for focusing on the physical characteristics of its personnel. In an unearthed video from 2019 defending the LAFD’s DEI agenda, Los Angeles Fire Department Assistant Chief Kristine Larson defending diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies by blaming fire victims for being in the wrong place.
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Larson, who leads the Equity and Human Resources Bureau, said that fire victims want a first responder that looks like them to come to their assistance because it will give them “more ease.”
“You want to see somebody that responds to your house, your emergency, whether it’s a medical call or a fire call, that looks like you. It give that person a little bit more ease knowing that somebody might understand their situation better,” Larson said.
The assistance fire chief then pushed back against those possibly casting doubt on women firefighters by claiming that the person in a deadly situation got themselves there.
“‘Is she strong enough to do this,’ or ‘you couldn’t carry my husband out of a fire.’ Which my response is, he got himself in the wrong place if I have to carry him out of a fire,” Larson said.
2. Bass Blankly Stares Off Into Space While Being Pressed On Trip To Africa
Sky News reporter David Blevins caught Bass off guard at a reporter’s question asking if she owed her constituents’ an apology for traveling to Ghana as the flames set ablaze.
“Do you owe citizens an apology for being absent while their homes were burning? Do you regret cutting the fire department budget by millions of dollars madame mayor?” Blevins asked. “Have you nothing to say today? Have you absolutely nothing to say to the citizens today?”
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‘Do you owe citizens an apology for being absent whilst their homes were burning? Do you regret cutting the fire department’s budget?
@skydavidblevins questions the mayor of LA, Karen Bass, as she faces backlash regarding the California wildfires.https://t.co/Nkz8onjC7V pic.twitter.com/WwRwp6Imqz— Sky News (@SkyNews) January 8, 2025
The mayor remained completely silent and appeared to stare at the floor as the reporter confronted her on her handling of the disaster. During her mayoral campaign, she told The New York Times during an Oct. 17, 2021, interview that she did not intend to travel abroad if she were elected mayor.
3. As Thousands Of Homes Turn To Ash, Newsom Tries Siccing Biden Admin On Wildfire ‘Misinformation’
Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom requested at a Friday meeting that President Joe Biden handle so-called “misinformation” about his state’s response to the fire while thousands of Californians’ homes, businesses and livelihoods burned to the ground.
“I ask you, we’ve got to deal with this misinformation,” Newsom said. “The hurricane force, winds filled with mis-and-disinformation lies. People want to divide this country and we’re gonna have to address that as well. And it breaks my heart as people are suffering and struggling, that we’re up against those hurricane forces as well. And that’s just a point of personal privilege that I share that with you because it [affects] real people who are out there, people I meet every single day. People [Bass] has been meeting with, and they’re having conversations that are not the typical conversations you’d have at this time and you wonder where this stuff comes from.”
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The governor’s state lacked the necessary resources to mitigate the raging fires, as fire hydrants in Altadena and Pacific Palisades had low water pressure or were down as officials attempted to put out the fires. An analysis from OpenTheBooks, a government transparency organization, found that Los Angeles lacked the budget to sufficiently fund fire hydrants across the area despite Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) officials receiving substantial taxpayer-funded salaries.
Newsom launched a $1 billion executive order in 2019 to increase the state’s readiness to combat wildfires. A CapRadio investigation from 2021 found that Newsom “overstated” the number of acres treated with “fuel breaks and prescribed burns” by 690%.
President-elect Donald Trump criticized Newsom for prioritizing the protection of the delta smelt, a small, three-inch fish, over allowing water to be used by officials. The president-elect said he secured federal approval for a plan on water management during his first term and alleged that Newsom refused to enact this policy. (RELATED: ‘My Hometown Feels Like Armageddon’: LA-Area Town Reduced To Ash Leaving Many With Only ‘Clothes On Their Backs’)
4. Newsom Flees Into Car When Confronted By Emotional Mother Over Wildfires
While an emotional woman living in an impacted area confronted Newsom on the lack of water and preparedness, the governor tried making a break for his vehicle to supposedly call President Joe Biden.
Newsom claimed that he tried calling the president “five times,” but the call did not go through due to poor cell service. The woman said she did not believe the governor was attempting to call Biden, and requested to be there and listen to their conversation.
“Can I hear it? Because I don’t believe it,” the woman said.
“It’s not going through, so I have to get cell service,” Newsom explained.
“Let’s get it, let’s get it, I want to be here when you call the president,” she responded, to which the governor replied he is doing “everything [he] can.”
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The woman pressed the governor on why the fire hydrants in the Los Angeles area had limited water, and even offered to fill them up herself. The governor assured her that he is taking all of the necessary steps to provide Californians with the necessary resources before cutting the conversation short and stepping into his vehicle.
“What are you gonna do? I would fill up [the hydrants] personally you know that,” she said. “I would fill up all of the hydrants myself. But would you do that?”
“I would do whatever I can,” the governor replied.
“But you’re not,” she interjected. “I see — do you know there’s water dripping over there, governor? There’s water coming out of there, you can use it.”
5. Bass Botches Statement On Wildfires, Tells Public To Find More Information ‘At URL’
Bass misread a statement Thursday as she gave an update on the wildfires, telling the public to find more information “at URL.”
During a briefing, Bass said people should look up vital information on shelter and emergency responses “at URL,” without correcting herself.
“Right now, if you need help, emergency information, resources and shelter is available. All of this can be found at URL. Los Angeles together is how we will get through this,” she said.
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The mayor has received widespread public backlash for this blunder and her trip to Ghana, with many coming to the conclusion that she is unable to properly lead through an urgent natural disaster.
6. Emergency Management Director Says They Don’t Have ‘Full Control’ Of System As Alert Goes Off
Los Angeles County Emergency Management director Kevin McGowan said during a Friday briefing that his agency does not have full control over their emergency alert system. At that same moment, an emergency alert went off.
Millions of Californians mistakenly received emergency alerts on their cell phones ordering them to evacuate on two separate occasions, creating widespread panic across the area. McGowan said the state government will put a stop to the alert system.
“In coordination with our federal and state partners, we can stop the messages that are going out right now that are not being initiated by a human action,” McGowan said, as an alert went off. “To stop that, and to understand how that occurred, so that the tool can still be used for what was identified as like a critical fire weather that we are experiencing and we’ll continue to experience.”
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The City of Beverly Hills received a false alert to evacuate their homes at about 4 a.m. Friday, leading the Office of Emergency Management to send a message 15 minutes later to confirm that was an error, according to NBC News Bay Area.
7. California State Assemblyman Rambles As Reporter Confronts Him On Trump-Proofing Session
Democratic California State Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas gave a lengthy, rambling response regarding the timing of holding a special session to combat President-elect Donald Trump’s second term as Californians suffered through the wildfires.
The special session decided to allocate $25 million to the California Department of Justice to fight against Trump’s policy agenda when he reenters office. KCRA 3 News California Capitol correspondent Ashley Zavala pressed Rivas on whether the timing of holding a special session on Trump at the same time as the wildfires was appropriate.
“Is now the right time to have a special legislative session on allocating money to fight Trump in a way that you could already do without a special legislative session?” Zavala asked.
“So, um, I’m here to address this, this, you know, these, these… wildfires. This is a historic… wildfire. This is a historic event, these wildfires, as I mention, are quite possibly going to be some of the worst wildfires and disasters in the state in… history,” Rivas said.
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Newsom called for the special session Nov. 7, two days after the president-elect defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. Rivas argued that himself and his colleagues were “acting with great urgency” to combat the wildfires, despite focusing on Trump.
“While these wildfires are happening, and while people are trying to understand what is going on, and they’re worried about disaster relief, worried about the ability to get homeowner’s insurance, your chamber gaveled into the special legislative session to prepare for Donald Trump in a way you are already able to do without a special legislative session,” Zavala said.
“So, certainly, our focus right now as speaker actually, um, at this point, my colleagues and I are acting with great urgency, great urgency, to ensure that we’re providing much-needed relief to Angelenos, that, that, that, that we understand what it will take for this region to recover and to support those who have been most impacted by this disaster,” Rivas said. “And it’s, you know, this is, you know, the response from, from our first responders has been unprecedented and, um, they’re doing all that they can to control and contain, again, these multiple fires and doing whatever they can to ensure that uh, they’re keeping people safe now, and again in anticipation and in preparation for recovery, and, as a state, as a legislature, we will do everything we can to support that recovery.”
(Featured Image Media Credit: Screenshot/Sky News)
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