Embattled Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has announced she removed LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley from her position over her controversial handling of January’s deadly wildfires.
The announcement corroborates DailyMail.com’s exclusive reporting last month, that Crowley had been told she was getting fired, which was denied by the Mayor’s office at the time.
Mayor Bass blamed Crowley for allegedly sending home 1,000 firefighters instead of keeping them on duty the morning the devastating fires broke out on January 7 that wiped whole neighborhoods off the map.
‘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,’ Bass said in a statement released Friday morning.
‘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.
‘The heroism of our firefighters – during the Palisades fire and every single day – is without question. Bringing new leadership to the Fire Department is what our city needs.’
Bass appointed Chief Deputy Ronnie Villanueva, a 41-year LAFD veteran, as Interim Fire Chief.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced Friday afternoon that she had met with and immediately removed LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley from her position
‘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 (pictured) as Fire Chief,’ Bass said in a statement
Tensions were already at boiling point between Bass and Crowley, even before the disastrous fires broke out.
The Mayor pushed through budget cuts of $17.6 million through a recent council vote, prompting Crowley to write her a memo on December 4 warning the slash ‘severely limited the department’s capacity to prepare for, train for, and respond to large-scale emergencies, including wildfires.’
And DailyMail.com exclusively revealed a second LAFD memo written the day before the Palisades Fire began, outlining a further $49 million of cuts allegedly demanded by Bass.
Then in shocking statements to Fox LA on Friday January 10, Crowley said she had not been informed that the Santa Ynez Reservoir in the Palisades had been empty and offline for weeks with scheduled maintenance by LA Department of Water and Power (DWP).
Crowley also appeared to point the finger at DWP for running out of water to provide firefighters battling the blaze this week.
‘We weren’t aware,’ she said, referring to the empty reservoir. ‘I don’t know how the water gets to the hydrants. Please defer that to DWP.
‘It’s my job to stand up and say, justifiably, exactly what the fire department needs,’ the chief added.
‘When a firefighter comes up to a hydrant, we expect there’s going to be water. We don’t control the water supply. We’re there to protect lives and property.
Across Los Angeles, over 18,000 structures were destroyed in the fires that occurred this past January as tens of thousands of people were forced from their homes, with at least 29 people known to have lost their lives in the crisis
Cars are left charred inside a dealership in the aftermath of the Eaton Fire on Friday
She said her firefighters ‘did absolutely everything they could do to rescue and save people’s lives and property.’
The Mayor’s alleged backlash for the comments was nearly immediate, sources told DailyMail.com.
That afternoon, sources close to Crowley’s office said the fire chief was told she would be fired, and had been hugging her staff goodbye before going into a meeting with Bass.
‘She was going into the meeting, telling everybody goodbye, because she was told the whole purpose of the meeting was to fire her,’ the source close to Crowley’s office said.
‘When she was summoned into the meeting, it was with the direct purpose to fire her.
‘Whatever happened in that meeting, minds got changed.
‘Either Bass realized it would be suicide to fire her, and came to her senses, or Crowley talked her out of it.
‘She came back in the office briefly, told her staff “I’m not fired yet” and went into a meeting with all her chiefs.’
Flames and smoke from the Palisades Fire surround a home in the community of Topanga
The Palisades Fire burns a structure in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, pictured on Jan. 8 2025
LAFD confirmed the meeting between Crowley and Bass in a statement to DailyMail.com – but added that the fire chief was ‘not dismissed’.
The cost of these fires have been enormous.
One-hundred-and-twenty foot flames have destroyed thousands of homes, businesses, schools and places of worship, causing an estimated $49billion worth of damage so far in communities from the Pacific Coast to Pasadena.
Ferocious winds combined with an extensive drought created the ‘perfect storm’ for the infernos, which firefighters are struggling to contain.
The Palisades Fire is currently only eight percent contained as firefighters have fought in vain for two days straight to try and stop its spread.
The Eaton Fire is currently not contained at all, the Kenneth Fire and Hurst Fire are around 35percent contained and the Lidia Fire is 75percent contained.
Meanwhile, Bass, who was on a trip to Ghana to attend the West African country’s presidential inauguration on Tuesday has been heavily criticized for the trip – as a warning was sent out about ‘critical’ weather conditions days prior.
Bass defended her leadership when asked at a press conference on Thursday and said: ‘I just said what I believe is the most important thing for us to do right now. That’s going to continued to be my focus.’
