Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has removed the L.A. Fire Chief Kristen Crowley from her position in the wake of the devastating wildfires that burned through thousands of acres of land, and reduced the Pacific Palisade, Malibu, and other areas around the city to ash.
According to ABC News, Bass said on Friday that Crowley had been removed because she sent home firefighters instead of using them, and has replaced her with Ronnie Villanueva, a retired LA Fire chief.
“We know that 1,000 firefighters that could have been on duty on the morning the fires broke out were instead sent home on Chief Crowley’s watch,” Bass said in a statement. “Furthermore, a necessary step to an investigation was the President of the Fire Commission telling Chief Crowley to do an after-action report on the fires. The Chief refused. These require her removal.”
The LA Fire Department told ABC News in a statement that they were aware of the changes made by Mayor Bass.
“We are aware of the mayor’s announcement and have no further comments or interviews on this matter at this time,” the LA Fire Department said.
Bass, who was severely criticized for taking a trip to Ghana while the fires were raging, said during a press conference that she didn’t know there would be a weather emergency.
“What I can tell you is that what has happened in the two-plus years I’ve been here, every time there was a weather emergency or even a hint of a weather emergency, the chief has called me directly. She has my cellphone. She knows she can call me 24/7, and she briefed me, and then we would talk about what needed to happen next. That did not happen this time,” Bass said.
Bass then said the “buck stops” with her but said all heads of departments needed to get hold of her when the fires erupted.
“As the mayor of the city, the buck stops with me. I am in charge,” Bass said. “However, the person in charge of the fire department, as I mentioned before, whenever there was a fire emergency, a weather emergency or a hint of a problem, I am contacted directly, and not just by Chief Crowley, but by any of the heads of the departments, as you know we have over 40 departments.”
Bass further denied that she had made budget cuts to the LA Fire Department.
“I have done two budgets in my time here. In both budgets, the budget was increased, and I will anticipate that it will be increased this time as well,” Bass said.
