Former Los Angeles Fire Department Chief recently removed from office by the mayor, was accused of ineffective leadership before the January storm, causing a massive deadly wildfire. She informed the city council that she plans to appeal, but she also faces opposition within the city council.
According to the city news agency, former Los Angeles City Fire Department (LAFD) Chief Kristin Crowley was dismissed by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass last week. On Thursday (February 27), Crowley notified the city government that she would appeal to the city council according to the provisions of the Los Angeles city charter.
Crowley announced this decision in an email sent to city council members that afternoon. However, according to the city charter, she needs the support of at least 10 out of the 15 city council members to be reinstated as chief. This may be challenging as five city council members have publicly expressed support for Bass’s decision, but at least two council members have openly opposed Crowley’s dismissal and encouraged her to appeal.
Several hours after receiving the appeal notice, the Los Angeles City Council scheduled a special meeting at 5 p.m. on Friday at Van Nuys City Hall to consider the appeal.
Bass announced Crowley’s dismissal on February 21, citing inadequate preparations for the wildfire as the reason for removing the fire chief.
Bass stated that the chair of the Fire Commission requested Chief Crowley to provide a post-fire report on several wildfires, but Crowley declined; furthermore, “on the morning of the fire outbreak, 1,000 firefighters who were supposed to be on duty were sent home under Chief Crowley’s supervision, leading to her dismissal.”
On February 22 (last Saturday), Crowley released a statement saying, “As fire chief, my actions and decisions are based on taking care of the firefighters so they can take care of our community.”
Bass has faced criticism for her handling of the wildfires, especially for leaving for Ghana on a diplomatic visit before the outbreak, despite weather warnings predicting high winds and fire danger conditions.
Bass countered by stating that Crowley failed to provide her with weather updates before the unprecedented strong winds arrived; typically, she would receive notifications from the fire chief about severe wildfire risks, but she did not receive any such notifications in January.
Moreover, a key reservoir remained empty for months before the Palisades Fire, causing concerns about reduced water pressure in parts of Pacific Palisades and the inability to use city fire hydrants. The mayor emphasized that further investigation into water pressure would be conducted as part of the investigation ordered by Governor Newsom.
Tensions between Bass and Crowley escalated upon her return to Los Angeles, when Crowley publicly criticized the city for cutting the fire department’s budget funding, resulting in a significant reduction in support staff. On the day of her criticism, they had a one-on-one closed-door meeting, but Bass did not take any punitive action against Crowley at that time.
The union representing LAFD firefighters – the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City (UFLAC) – expressed strong support for Crowley. UFLAC President Freddie Escobar last week stated, “We are outraged by the dismissal of Chief Crowley. In our view, Crowley has become a scapegoat, dismissed for speaking the truth.”
Escobar refuted Bass’s claim that Crowley refused to provide a post-fire report. He argued that Crowley informed the Fire Commission that the commission was not suited to conduct the investigation; the investigation into the fire handling should actually be done by the Fire Safety Research Institute with the assistance of LAFD – an independent agency authorized by Newsom to analyze the overall situation of multiple fires in the Los Angeles area and the various factors contributing to the disasters.
Escobar also questioned Bass’s comments on LAFD’s pre-deployment patterns and her assessment of the department’s 2024-2025 fiscal year budget.
“What she didn’t say – resources were lacking. I was at the command center that night. I was in Los Angeles at the time,” said Escobar. “We had more members willing to respond to (firefighting), but we didn’t have enough seats available because we didn’t have enough fire trucks or engines.”
Bass and council members defended their expenditure plans, insisting that LAFD’s funding had increased over the past two years. However, Escobar and Crowley argued that operational budgets and overtime hours had decreased, and auxiliary positions such as mechanics for fire vehicles had been cut.
After being dismissed, Crowley exercised her civil service rights and chose to remain in LAFD in a lower position, with the specific role to be determined by acting Chief Ronnie Villanueva.