On Friday, as firefighters continued to battle massive wildfires, Los Angeles Fire Chief Christine Crowley surprised many observers with an unusual television interview.
Crowley, confronted by a FOX 11 reporter, said the city of Los Angeles, and by implication her boss, Mayor Karen Bass, had failed her and her department. She went on to say that fire departments are understaffed and underfunded, and that the situation is “no longer sustainable.”
A few hours later, Crowley burst into the mayor’s evening media briefing on the wildfires, having stayed too long in Bass’s office for a meeting. Ms. Bass ultimately missed the briefing, where she had been advertised as a featured speaker.
While one group of reporters waited for the press conference to begin, another small group was camped outside the mayor’s office. Both sides were shocked when the Daily Mail reported on its website that Mr Bass had fired Mr Crowley.
Bus spokesman Zach Seidl said that’s not true. The fire department also released a statement saying Bass and Crowley’s “first priority remains fighting the current wildfires and protecting Angelenos.”
“It is important to note that the fire chief has not been fired and remains in full command of LAFD,” a statement posted to X by spokesperson Eric Scott said.
Mr. Crowley did not immediately respond to inquiries from the Times. Around 4 p.m., she told staff in a meeting with Bass that she would be fired, according to a person familiar with the discussions.
These developments have only added to the chaos of this week’s devastating wildfires, which are now in their fourth day. The wildfires destroyed parts of the Pacific Palisades and Malibu, as well as Altadena, an unincorporated suburb of Los Angeles, killing at least 11 people. .
Crowley’s comments exploded tensions between her and Bass over fire department funding.
Bass said earlier this week that the department’s budget cuts would not affect the city’s response to wildfires. Crowley rejected that theory Friday, drawing a connection between the department’s work cuts and the fight to fight off wildfires.
Crowley was hired by then-Mayor Eric Garcetti in 2022 to become the first woman to lead the fire department, which has struggled to hire female firefighters for years. An employee of the department for more than 20 years, she frequently attends press conferences this week to update the media on firefighting efforts.
On Friday, Crowley took a more confrontational stance, using her media appearances to hammer home the idea that her department has been doing too little for too long.
“We can’t sustain the situation any longer. We don’t have enough firefighters,” she told anchor Jake Tapper on CNN.
Crowley told Tapper that there were too few mechanics to fix broken cars. At one point, Tapper asked if budget cuts had hurt his agency’s ability to fight fires.
“I want to be very clear: Yes, we have cut our budget by $17 million,” she responded. “And as you know, any reduction in the budget will have a negative impact on our ability to accomplish our mission.”
Seidl did not comment on Crowley’s media appearances. But City Administrator Matt Szabo, who helps prepare the city’s budget, earlier this week pushed back against the idea that the fire department’s budget was cut this year. He said the department’s budget would increase by more than 7% after factoring in raises for firefighters and vehicle purchases.
Friday wasn’t the first time Crowley expressed concerns about his department’s budget.
Last month, she sent a memo to Bass-appointed Fire Commission members expressing serious concerns about the city’s decision to eliminate dozens of non-firefighter vacancies in her office.
In the memo, Crowley also expressed concern about what he called a $7 million reduction in overtime variable hours, or “v-hours.” He said in the memo that the cuts “significantly limited the department’s ability to prepare for, train for, and respond to large-scale emergencies such as wildfires.”
In an interview with Fox 11, Crowley went further, saying the department is not receiving the funding it needs to provide services to city residents. She said the department should double the number of firefighters and add 62 fire stations.
“Fire departments need to be properly funded so they can look people in the eyes and say, ‘LAFD has your back,'” she said.
“And you can’t do that now?” Fox 11 reporter Gigi Graciette responded.
“Right now? No,” Crowley said. “And that’s why I’m here.”
City Councilwoman Tracy Park, who represents Pacific Palisades, praised Crowley’s work and advocacy. Standing inside the city’s emergency operations center on Friday, Park said the fire department has been subject to “decades of chronic underinvestment.”
“The issues she’s talking about are really important,” she said.
Almost an hour later, Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell held a media briefing, which Bass was absent from, to discuss the curfew imposed on the evacuation area.
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