LOS ANGELES — Six weeks after probably the most damaging wildfire in metropolis historical past, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass ousted the town’s hearth chief Friday amid a public rift over preparations for a possible hearth and finger-pointing between the chief and Metropolis Corridor over accountability for the devastation.
Bass stated in a press release she is eradicating Chief Kristin Crowley instantly.
“Bringing new leadership to the Fire Department is what our city needs,” Bass stated in a press release.
“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 disclosed. She added that the chief refused a request to organize an “after-action report” on the fires, which she referred to as a obligatory step within the investigation.
The Palisades Hearth started throughout heavy winds Jan. 7, destroying or damaging practically 8,000 properties, companies and different buildings and killing not less than 12 folks within the LA neighborhood. One other wind-whipped hearth began the identical day in suburban Altadena, a group to the east, killing not less than 17 folks and destroying or damaging greater than 10,000 properties and different buildings.
Bass has been dealing with criticism for being in Africa as a part of a presidential delegation on the day the fires began, although climate reviews had warned of harmful hearth circumstances within the days earlier than she left.