Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass removed Fire Chief Kristin Crowley amid escalating tensions after a wildfire affected the Pacific Palisades. Bass cited Crowley’s failure to adequately brief her on fire risks, which prompted her controversial trip to Ghana just before the fires erupted. Critics accused Crowley of underwhelming fire response and pointed out she sent home 1,000 firefighters on duty during a significant threat. Despite being the first female and openly gay chief, Crowley’s leadership was challenged amidst recent incidents. Bass plans a national search for a new chief, while Ronnie Villanueva serves as interim chief.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass made the sudden decision to dismiss the city’s fire chief on Friday, aiming to resolve the growing tensions between the two leaders in the wake of a devastating wildfire that struck the Pacific Palisades neighborhood.
In a statement, Mayor Bass announced the immediate removal of Kristin Crowley, the chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department. This decision followed Bass’s acknowledgment that it was a mistake to leave the country and travel to Ghana shortly before the fires emerged. For several weeks, she has confided to friends that she wouldn’t have made the trip had she been appropriately informed about the severity of the situation.
The mayor attributed the lack of communication regarding this threat to Crowley, a claim the chief has contested. Crowley highlighted that just prior to Bass’s departure, weather forecasters had issued multiple warnings concerning dangerously high winds and arid conditions.
This announcement marked the culmination of weeks filled with mounting pressures. Experienced fire officials in the area asserted that Chief Crowley’s response to the crisis was notably less decisive and adept than the department’s responses in previous high-risk fire scenarios. In defense, Crowley argued that the fire department had been short on funding, a claim the mayor and city budget officials rejected.
In her statement regarding the shake-up, the mayor criticized Crowley for sending home approximately 1,000 firefighters who were completing a shift when the Palisades fire ignited on January 7, instead of keeping them on duty. This precautionary step was something that other regional fire officials took and was typically seen as a necessary — albeit costly — measure in extremely high fire risk situations. Additionally, Bass accused Crowley of declining to initiate a review of the department’s actions leading up to the fires.
“These actions necessitate her removal,” Bass asserted in her statement. “The bravery of our firefighters during the Palisades fire and every day is indisputable. Our city requires new leadership in the Fire Department.”
Following Crowley’s dismissal, the mayor’s office indicated that Crowley planned to utilize her civil-service rights and remain with the department in a reduced capacity. An interim fire chief will assign her new responsibilities.
The chief’s removal comes as Bass, who previously enjoyed a high approval rating as mayor, faces backlash for her management during one of the worst crises in Los Angeles history. Just before the fires, as red-flag warnings escalated, Bass traveled to Ghana at the request of President Biden to be part of an official U.S. delegation for the inauguration of that country’s president. When the fires intensified, she interrupted her trip to return to Los Angeles aboard a military aircraft.
In a recent interview with a local Fox News station, Bass remarked that had she been properly informed about the impending fire risks, she wouldn’t have traveled further than San Diego.
She criticized the chief for not taking “standard preparations” and noted that the warnings she received from fire officials did not indicate that “a significant disaster was forthcoming.”
In the immediate aftermath of the fire, Bass kept a low profile regarding her trip to Ghana and largely refrained from criticizing Crowley. Crowley, who was relatively new to her position, had been appointed just three years prior by Mayor Bass’s predecessor, Eric Garcetti, during a turbulent period marked by discrimination complaints within the fire department.
Crowley was notably the first female chief in the department’s history, as well as the first openly gay chief. Yet, many veteran members of the department opposed her appointment, calling for a formal search and arguing that she lacked sufficient experience. Fire chiefs in Los Angeles are appointed by the mayor and can be replaced with each new administration, but Bass retained Crowley upon taking office in 2022.
During a news conference on Friday, Bass stressed she hadn’t received proper notifications regarding the fire risks from Crowley.
“Throughout my two-plus years in office, every time there was a weather emergency or even the slightest indication of one, the chief personally contacted me,” Bass stated. “That did not occur this time.”
Immediately following the fires, Bass indicated that she did not intend to remove Crowley. After a British news source incorrectly reported last month that Bass aimed to oust the fire chief, Bass explicitly requested Crowley to stand alongside her during a news conference.
When questioned on Friday about what had changed, Bass explained that she preferred not to implement any changes while the city was dealing with multiple threats, including the fires and potential mudslides from impending rainstorms.
“Los Angeles was on fire,” Bass remarked. “Following that, we faced rainfall. I wasn’t going to make any changes while we were in a state of emergency.”
Lindsey Horvath, a member of the county’s board of supervisors whose district encompasses Pacific Palisades, stated on Friday that any attacks against Crowley regarding her gender and sexual orientation should be condemned.
“Implying that her identity affects her capacity to perform the job is not only unacceptable; it is unlawful,” Horvath affirmed.
The Palisades fire was the initial incident in a series of two major fires that resulted in the destruction of approximately 12,000 structures across Southern California last month. Mayor Bass’s management of the city’s response has continued to face scrutiny in the days that followed.
The Los Angeles Times reported that she had agreed to allow longtime developer Steve Soboroff to be compensated $500,000 to serve as the city’s chief development officer for three months to assist with the rebuilding efforts. This funding was set to originate from undisclosed charitable organizations. Once the arrangement became public, Bass stated that she had requested Soboroff to perform the role without charge, to which he consented.
Her choice to dismiss Crowley received sharp criticism from Rick Caruso, a Los Angeles developer who opposed her for the mayoral position and has since emerged as one of her strongest critics in the aftermath of the fires.
“In a high-ranking city official, honesty should not be grounds for termination,” Caruso remarked in a statement. “The mayor’s choice to disregard the warnings and vacate the city was solely hers. This is a moment for city leaders to own their actions and decisions.”
Bass stated that her office would conduct a national search for a new fire chief. For the time being, Ronnie Villanueva, a recently retired member of the Los Angeles Fire Department with over 40 years of service, will assume the role of interim chief.