Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced on Friday (Saturday AEST) she has fired Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley, citing in part her response to last month’s devastating Palisades wildfire, among the most destructive in California’s history.
Bass said the chief’s removal was “in the best interests of Los Angeles’ public safety, and for the operations of the Los Angeles Fire Department.”
Exercising her rights under civil service rules, the 25-year LAFD veteran will remain employed by the fire department at a lower rank, and her duties will be assigned by the interim fire chief, a statement from the mayor’s office said.
Crowley called leading the department “an absolute honour” in a statement released on Saturday.
“As the Fire Chief, I based my actions and decisions on taking care of our firefighters so that they could take care of our communities,” she said.
The catastrophic Palisades fire, which burned Los Angeles’ Pacific Palisades neighbourhood as well as unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County and the city of Malibu, killed 12 people and torched nearly 24,000 acres since it began January 7, upending the lives of thousands who were suddenly displaced after being told to evacuate or left with only ruins of their homes and family memories.
More than 7,800 buildings were damaged or destroyed in the Palisades fire, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection estimates.
In response to the destructive fires, Crowley had faced criticism alleging firefighters responded to the scene of the Palisades fire too late and evacuation orders could have been issued sooner.
Bass had also faced criticism for being in Ghana when the Palisades fire erupted, despite warnings about fire weather conditions.
At the time, she had been overseas attending the inauguration of President John Dramani Mahama as part of a US presidential delegation.
Meanwhile, Crowley had publicly expressed concerns about a $27.3 million ($US17.4 million) cut to the department’s 2025 budget, which included reductions in overtime staffing.
“Any budget cut would negatively impact our ability to carry out our mission,” she told CNN’s Jake Tapper last month, adding she had previously warned city leaders the department was severely understaffed and under-resourced.
Bass cited two specific reasons which “require her removal,” namely, firefighters were off-duty the morning of the fires and Crowley did not cooperate with part of the investigation.
“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 the statement.
Additionally, as part of the investigation into the wildfire response, the president of the Los Angeles’ fire commission asked Crowley this week to do an after-action report, and “the Chief refused,” Bass said.
CNN has reached out to Crowley for additional comment.
Bass did not know Crowley’s justification behind her refusal, she said at a news conference on Friday afternoon.
In a statement following Crowley’s removal, Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said the report “is the appropriate mechanism to review everything that occurred so that we can affirm what worked and improve what didn’t,” adding it is critical to accurately answering the public’s questions.
Asked why she had not fired Crowley sooner, Bass said, “I was not going to do anything while we were in a state of emergency.”
Bass has appointed former Chief Deputy Ronnie Villanueva, a 41-year department veteran, as interim fire chief. Seven months ago, Villanueva retired as the department’s chief deputy of emergency operations.
“I pledge to the mayor, our firefighters and to the people of Los Angeles is that the Los Angeles City Fire Department will be prepared,” Villanueva said at the news conference with Bass.
“The Los Angeles City Fire Department will respond, and the Los Angeles City Fire Department will keep you safe.”
In the wake of Crowley’s removal, some have expressed their disapproval of the mayor’s decision. Rick Caruso, a real estate developer and former mayoral candidate, called it “very disappointing” and said city leaders should take responsibility for their actions instead of passing blame.
“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,” Caruso said.
“The Mayor’s decision to ignore the warnings and leave the city was hers alone.”
United Firefighters of Los Angeles City president Freddy Escobar said the union is “outraged” by the termination, stating that Crowley is “being made a scapegoat” and was fired for telling the truth.
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“The truth is our fire department has been underfunded and under-resourced for years, for decades, including Mayor Bass’ time in office,” Escobar said.
“I’ve known Chief Crowley for 20 plus years. She’s a person of integrity and a true leader.”
He said that Crowley was willing to participate in an investigation, but felt the fire commission was the inappropriate agency to conduct an investigation because it’s a governing body that audits rather than investigates the fire department.
Los Angeles City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, along with other city council members and local officials, backed Bass’ decision to remove Crowley and appoint Villanueva.
Maryam Zar, chair emeritus of the Pacific Palisades Community Council, also supported Bass.
“It is not lost on anyone that any move that’s made after the fact does not change the devastation. People’s lives have been upturned and the recovery ahead will be long,” Zar said in a statement.
“But an acknowledgment that major missteps were made and that accountability is the cornerstone of the public trust is important, and this is a good step in that direction.”
The intense lead-up to Crowley’s firing
In the months leading up to Crowley’s removal, Bass and the city’s fire department had been engaged in a contentious back-and-forth about their immediate response to the Palisades fire.
While Bass faced backlash for her absence and budget cuts, Crowley was criticised for communication issues and a delay in deploying firefighters.
“We have worked very well together. Now, are there differences along the way? Of course,” Bass said on Friday.
In the days leading up to the fire, the National Weather Service in Los Angeles had issued numerous warnings about dangerous weather conditions, including destructive windstorms.
“This is an event that had exceptionally long lead times, not only of the powerful windstorm that we anticipated but also the potential for a particularly dangerous situation, red flag warning, fire weather conditions,” said Ariel Cohen, a meteorologist with the agency.
Fuelled by intense winds, the Palisades fire had broken out around 10.30am PT on January 7, while Bass was in Ghana on a trip announced by the White House earlier in the month.
About eight hours later, as the fire rapidly expanded and firefighters struggled to contain it, the Los Angeles Department urged all off-duty firefighters to call in with their availability.
Bass said she had been in “constant contact” with local, federal, and county officials as she “took the fastest route back” to California.
She arrived in the US early in the morning on January 8.
Later, the mayor told KTTV the trip was a mistake but Crowley did not call to warn her in advance of the trip and did not do what she called “normal preparations.”
“Every time there was a weather emergency or even a hint of a weather emergency, the chief has called me directly,” Bass said at the Friday news conference.
“That did not happen this time.” Only after the Palisades fire started did Crowley speak to her, Bass added.
In response to Bass’ claims that Crowley did not notify her in advance about the high winds fuelling the Palisades and Eaton wildfires, the department pushed back, saying it followed the appropriate preparation protocols.
“Prior to the Palisades Fire, the LAFD emailed two separate media advisories, conducted multiple live and recorded media interviews about the predicted extreme fire weather, and notified City Officials about the upcoming weather event,” LAFD told KNBC in a statement.
On the heels of the Palisades fire, exhausted Los Angeles firefighters battled several other blazes, including the Kenneth, Sunset, Hurst and Sepulveda fires.
Across Southern California, numerous raging fires scorched more than 50,000 acres, while the two most destructive alone killed 29 people and damaged or destroyed more than 18,000 buildings.
Following the spread of the infernos across the region, Crowley also criticized the city for slashing the department’s budget, insisting it had affected their ability to fight “one of the most horrific natural disasters in the history of Los Angeles.” Crowley said she had warned city leaders over the last three years the fire department “needs help.”
“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 told CNN in January.
Over 100 fire apparatuses were out of service and 62 more fire stations were needed, Crowley said.
The department had a 55 per cent increase in calls since 2010, but not enough firefighters to respond, she said.
Bass insisted the budget cuts had not hindered the LAFD’s ability to fight the wildfires.
“I think if you go back and look at the reductions that have been made, there were no reductions that would have impacted the situation we were dealing with over the last couple of days,” she said in early January.
On Friday, when Crowley was removed nearly three years after becoming the department’s first woman and LGBTQ fire chief, Bass defended her leadership during the crisis.
“As the mayor of the city, the buck stops with me. I am in charge,” Bass said.
The investigations into wildfire response will continue and the fire department budget will likely be increased, she said.
Her office will also lead a national search for a new permanent fire chief, Bass said.
“The city is not in upheaval,” Bass said.
“I am very happy that the rebuilding, the restoration, the clearing of the fire, of the debris, is moved forward way ahead of time.”
