The Mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass Fires Fire Chief, quotes the bad reaction of the forest fire

Crowley fought for this year's reduction in the fire brigade's budget by $ 17.6 million and warned that it needed more employees and resources.

Bass has appointed Ronnie Villanueva, a 41-year-old LAFD veteran, who retired seven months ago as head of the emergency operations.

“In the best interest of public security in Los Angeles and for the operations of the fire brigade of Los Angeles, I removed Kristin Crowley as fire chief,” said Bass in a statement on Friday. “We know that 1,000 firefighters who could break out the morning on which the fires could break out were sent home to Chief Crowley's watch.

“In addition, there was a necessary step towards an investigation by the President of the Fire Brigade Commission that Chief Crowley should carry out an after -action report on the fires. The chief declined. These require their distance, ”said Bass.

It is estimated that the palisades and Eaton fires have caused hundreds of billions of dollars of direct and indirect damage, which makes them the most expensive natural disasters in American history.

Bass was in particular not available when the fires began, as it was as part of a delegation of the bidges of administration in Africa for the inauguration of the new Ghanaian president. Bass claims that it was not made aware of the severity of the fire risk before she went to Ghana, while Crowley claimed that important preparations and communication were carried out.

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The developer and former mayor candidate Rick Caruso, whom bass defeated in 2022 and is considered the leader for the mayoral race 2026, defended Crowley because he spoke out against the mayor's actions.

“It is very disappointing that Mayor Bass decided to shoot boss Kristin Crowley. Chef Crowley served Los Angeles well and spoke honestly about the serious and deeply poorly designed budget cuts that the bass administration did to the LAFD. Honesty in a High City officials should not be a firing sentence. The mayor's decision to ignore the warnings and leave the city was their alone. “