LA Mayor Karen Bass Fires LAFD Chief Kristen Crowley, Blaming Her For Mishandling Palisades Fire

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass fires Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristen Crowley on Friday over allegations that Crowley did not tell Bass of what the exact risk of wildfires were last month before Bass left on an African trip.

Since January 7th, Bass has received scorching criticism for her handling of the wildfire emergency, leading many to call for her resignation. Amongst Bass’ many criticisms tied to the fires includes her cutting $17.5 million from the LAFD in the 2024-2025 city budget, deciding to travel abroad in January despite knowing that a major emergency could happen with high speed winds expected, giving a minimal response to the fires on the first day, refusing to answer press questions, having promised to never travel abroad as Mayor yet doing it anyway, and showing an overall general mismanagement of the fires once she returned to L.A.

In recent weeks she was also outclassed by President Donald Trump at a roundtable press meeting, has seen record low approval ratings, and has admitted that going on the African trip last month was a mistake in the first place. In addition, recall efforts are currently being built against her as an overall result.

For over the past month, Bass and Crowley have clashed both publicly and privately. Bass has tried to pin the blame of the fires on Crowley and downplay her own fault. However, Crowley responded each time. When Bass said that her cuts to the LAFD budget were not detrimental, Crowley came forth with proof showing that they did indeed hurt the LAFD’s ability to provide service during the fires. And when Bass previously tried to claim that she was not given any warning of high wind risks or wildfire dangers before leaving on her trip, Crowley and the LAFD came back with proof yet again proving Bass wrong. The last one was particularly embarrassing, as all it took was simple X posts showing just how dire the warning was in the days before the fires – when Bass was still in Los Angeles.

However, that hasn’t meant that Crowley has been entirely in the right. Many in the LAFD believed Crowley was in over her head when dealing with the fires and called on her to resign. The LAFD’s wildfire setup was also not seen as optimal when the fires started. Even with these actions, Bass has been seen as the one with much more blame on her shoulders. The Mayor even tried to fire Crowley on at least one occasion after the fires but couldn’t as Crowley was been seen as too instrumental in recovery.

Bass fires Crowley

This all led to Friday when Bass finally fired Crowley. In a statement, Bass blamed Crowley for mishandling the Palisades Fire, claiming that she did not send out all available firefighters when the fire began and that she didn’t do an after action report on the fires. Bass further blamed Crowley in her statement for not telling her of the exact dangers of a wildfire before leaving for Africa.

“Acting in the best interests of Los Angeles’ public safety, and for the operations of the Los Angeles Fire Department, I have removed Kristin Crowley as Fire Chief,” said Mayor Bass on Friday. “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. 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 heroism of our firefighters – during the Palisades fire and every single day – is without question. Bringing new leadership to the fire department is what our city needs.”

Bass then appointed the recently retired deputy fire chief Ronnie Villanueva as Acting LAFD Chief.

“While the Department is in the experienced and expert hands of Chief Villanueva, my office will lead a national search and I will speak directly with firefighters and Angelenos about what they want to see in their next permanent chief,” added Bass.

Bass was immediately called out for scapegoating Crowley on Friday, with several lawmakers from both parties locking arms against Bass.

“Chief Crowley remains the most qualified member of the Los Angeles City Fire Department that earned her well deserved appointment as Fire Chief,” said Los Angeles city councilwoman Monica Rodriguez. “I am outraged by the scapegoating revealed by the Mayor’s actions.”

Bass’ 2022 Mayoral election rival Rick Caruso also called Bass out.

“It is very disappointing that Mayor Bass has decided to fire Chief Kristin Crowley,” added Caruso on X. “Chief Crowley served Los Angeles well and spoke honestly about the severe and profoundly ill-conceived budget cuts the Bass administration made to the LAFD. That courage to speak the truth was brave, and I admire her. Honesty in a high city official should not be a firing offense. The Mayor’s decision to ignore the warnings and leave the city was hers alone. This is a time for city leaders to take responsibility for their actions and their decisions. We need real leadership, not more blame passing.”

Even critics of Bass were surprised at even her allies going against her on the decision to fire Crowley on Friday, with Bass’ chances of being removed from office growing as a result.

“She just signed her own death warrant,” expressed former lobbyist Harry Schultz to the Globe on Friday. “No one is defending Bass now it seems. Crowley did make some mistakes, but overall she gave it her all. And let’s not forget, Crowley was the one leading the efforts when Bass was still jet-setting it out in Ghana. And the media kept asking Crowley for interviews over Bass because of how candid she was.

“A recall against Bass is now inevitable. Should she run in 2026 somehow, she now has Crowley as a powerful enemy. Crowley’s support will be huge, if she doesn’t run herself. And her opponents can use this against Bass. Look at what happened in Oakland last year. The Mayor there, amongst other things, fired the Oakland police Chief and that action caused her to become way less popular as a result. That decision is cited as a main reason why Sheng Thao was recalled. What’s that saying. History doesn’t repeat but it echoes?

“Bass knows she is going down for all of this, and firing Crowley was a saving throw. Judging by the public reaction and the reaction of politicians, it only hurt her more. Donors are getting away from her as fast as they can. She’s done. And she might have just given Caruso the win in 2026 with this.”