FLAMED OUT

LA Fire Chief Axed as Mayor Alleges She Made Major Gaffe Ahead of Wildfires

The fire leader has been under intense scrutiny since a flurry of wildfires wiped out large swaths of Los Angeles.

Los Angeles’ fire chief Kristin Crowley was fired Friday and accused of making a major gaffe on the day deadly wildfires broke out in the city last month. Mayor Karen Bass said it was specifically Crowley’s handling of the Palisades Fire that led to her getting the ax. “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 Friday—a bombshell indictment on Crowley’s decision making if true. Bass also alleged Crowley refused to conduct an after action report on the fires. “These require her removal,” Bass said. The firing comes after weeks of bickering between the officials, beginning as early as Jan. 10 when Crowley told news outlets, including CNN, the city of Los Angeles had failed her department by leaving it underfunded and understaffed. Bass, who was abroad when fires broke out, appeared with Crowley at news conferences as a united front during the fires. With the flames extinguished, however, Bass has since alleged that Crowley did not properly alert her to the city’s fire risk. Had she done that, she claims she would have canceled her Africa trip.