Former Los Angeles fire chief appeals controversial ousting that came in wake of wildfires

USA Today

28-02-2025

Former Los Angeles fire chief appeals controversial ousting that came in wake of wildfires Mayor Karen Bass fired Kristin Crowley late last week, saying it was 'in the best interests of Los Angeles' public safety.' Crowley's defenders say the firing was political and uncalled for.
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L.A.'s wildfires have only intensified the city's decades-long housing crisis
Where will people live now and at what cost?
LOS ANGELES − Former Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley is appealing her controversial firing at the hands of Mayor Karen Bass, according to local reports.
Crowley notified the city council about the appeal on Thursday, just under a week since Bass fired her in the wake of devastating wildfires that killed dozens of people and burned thousands of homes in the region. Bass said in a statement that the move was "in the best interests of Los Angeles' public safety," a rationale that Crowley's supporters questioned.
It would take two-thirds of the council's 15 members to overturn the firing.
"I look forward to hearing from you about next steps, if any," Crowley wrote in an email to councilmembers obtained by the Los Angeles Times.
Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez called for Crowley to appeal the decision earlier this week, telling USA TODAY that it would give residents an opportunity for transparency.
"We have an obligation to protect the people of Los Angeles and have the right people at the helm making good and thoughtful decisions," Rodriguez said. "It shouldn't be a political decision."
Bass spokesperson Zach Seidl said in a statement to USA TODAY Thursday that: "Former Chief Crowley has the right to appeal her dismissal."
Crowley's appeal to face uphill battle
Four of the 15 council members, including city council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, stood with Bass at a news conference after she announced the firing.
Harris-Dawson told City News Service that he wanted Crowley fired, saying that he was not fully informed during the devastating firestorm that killed dozens and burned thousands of homes in the Los Angeles region in January.
'I was acting mayor at the time and I was not getting a flow of information from the chief during that time period,' Harris-Dawson told the outlet. 'Frankly, I did not talk to her until I showed up to a press conference at 4 o'clock that afternoon of the fire.'
Deputy Fire Chief Jason Hing had told Crowley that he messaged Harris-Dawson about the city's fire deployment, preparations and their need for more resources, according to phone messages obtained by KTLA-TV.
Rodriguez, whose district includes areas affected by the one of the blazes, told USA TODAY that Crowley contacted her when the 800-acre Hurst Fire started.
The councilwoman also called the mayor's rationale around Crowley not participating in an after-action report "not accurate."
"Everything that I know about Chief Crowley and everything that I know about ... her participation and cooperation in every single (after action-report), it was just out of character for the standard operating procedures that occurred with every major incident," Rodriguez said.
Councilmember Bob Blumenfeld told the Times that Bass "has the right to hire and fire whom she wishes."
Blumenfeld and Harris-Dawson did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's requests for comment about the appeal Thursday.
Firing stokes criticisms of fire budget management
Explaining the firing, Bass cited a report from the Los Angeles Times saying that fire officials decided not to assign roughly 1,000 available firefighters and dozens of water-carrying engines for emergency deployment in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood before the fires broke out.
Rodriguez called that rationale a "gotcha," and said that the availability of apparatus necessary for the available firefighters would be uncovered in an investigation.
The United Firefighters of Los Angeles City Local 112 echoed Rodriguez's assessment of the firing in a statement to USA TODAY, saying that she was dismissed without a full investigation.
"We still have nearly 100 broken down fire engines, trucks, and ambulances in the maintenance yard because of civilian mechanic job cuts," the union said. "This is a city that has neglected its fire department and can't even pay our firefighters correctly for the work that we perform every single day."
Bass has been dogged by criticisms of how she managed the fire budget in the year before the wind-driven fires that burned for weeks.
Budget documents previously obtained by USA TODAY show that the Los Angeles Fire Department's budget was reduced from $837 million in fiscal year 2024 to $819 million in fiscal year 2025 as a part of broader cuts for the year.
"LAFD's operating budget did get reduced by $17.6 million - part of that reduction included 61 total positions (civilian) being eliminated," the city's controller's office said in comments sent to USA TODAY accompanying the documents.
Crowley spoke out against the budget cuts in television interviews during the emergency, echoing warnings she made to the fire commission in December.
"The $17 million budget cut and elimination of our civilian positions, like our mechanics, did and has and will continue to severely impact our ability to repair our apparatus," Crowley said on CNN.
Tensions between Crowley and Bass nearly hit a boiling point after the interviews, and the mayor's office had to deny rumors that Crowley had been fired during a meeting between the two on Jan. 10.
Bass' travel put back in spotlight after firing
Bass was out of the country as the Pacific Palisades caught fire, having left on a diplomatic trip to attend the inauguration of Ghana's president.
"She knew that we had a major wind event coming up that had the potential for a wildfire," Tom Doran, who fled the Palisades Fire that destroyed his home, told USA TODAY in January. "She's off in another country, and at the taxpayer's expense, when she should've been here ... She is the chief executive of Los Angeles. Yes, she delegates but if you delegate you're the one in charge."
In an interview on local Fox program "The Issue Is," Bass claimed that Crowley failed to notify her about the coming fire danger and that she was not aware of warnings made before the firestorm.
Days before the fires broke out, the National Weather Service forecasted the fire weather, warning residents: "A LIFE-THREATENING, DESTRUCTIVE, Widespread Windstorm."
Rodriguez said that she was aware of the danger ahead of the fires through multiple media outlets and that the responsibility of notifying the mayor fell on the Emergency Management Department − not on the fire chief.
Bass' office stood by the firing in a statement to USA TODAY on Monday, pointing to the off-duty firefighters and saying: "Bringing new leadership to the fire department is what our city needs."