(The Center Square) – Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass fired Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley, citing Crowley’s placing firefighters off duty and the chief’s alleged refusal to conduct an after-action fire report.
Crowley notably fought against this year’s $17.6 million cut to the fire department’s budget, warning it needed more staff and resources.
Bass has appointed Ronnie Villanueva, a 41-year LAFD veteran who retired seven months ago as chief deputy of emergency operations, as interim chief.
“Acting in the best interests of Los Angeles’ public safety, and for the operations of the Los Angeles Fire Department, I have removed Kristin Crowley as Fire Chief,” said Bass in a statement Friday. “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.
“Furthermore, a necessary step to an investigation was the President of the Fire Commission telling Chief Crowley to do an after action report on the fires. The Chief refused. These require her removal,” Bass said.
The Palisades and Eaton Fires are estimated to have caused hundreds of billions of dollars of direct and indirect damage, making them the costliest natural disasters in American history.
Bass notably was absent when the fires started, as she was in Africa as part of a Biden administration delegation to the new Ghanaian president’s inauguration. Bass maintains she was not made aware of the severity of the fire risk before she left for Ghana, while Crowley maintained that major preparations and communications were undertaken.
Developer and former mayoral candidate Rick Caruso, whom Bass narrowly defeated in 2022 and is considered a frontrunner for the 2026 mayoral race, defended Crowley for speaking out against the mayor’s actions.
“It is very disappointing that Mayor Bass has decided to fire Chief Kristin Crowley. 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,” said Caruso on X. “That courage to speak the truth was brave, and I admire her. Honesty in a high city official should not be a firing offense. The Mayor’s decision to ignore the warnings and leave the city was hers alone.”
