Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass deleted LAFD chief Christine Crowley on Friday after weeks of tensions in preparation for the January storm and deadly Los Angeles wildfires.
The front and rear of the mayor and chief began a few days after the fire began on January 7th. Strong winds fanned by wildfires at Pallisard and Eton. Wind storms were widely anticipated and publicized when fires began in Pallisad and Altadena in the Pacific Ocean.
The mayor issued a statement Friday ahead of a press conference announcing her decision to remove Crawley.
“I have removed Christine Crowley as fire chief, acting in the best interests of the public safety of Los Angeles and to run the Los Angeles Fire Department,” Bus said. “We know that 1,000 firefighters who may have been on duty in the morning were fired with Crowley Chief’s watches and sent home instead.
“And the necessary step to the investigation was to tell Chief Crawley, the president of the Fire Commission and to make a report on the fire later, which the Chief refused. These require her removal. And so, our firefighter heroism – a day between the Palisade fire and all people – there’s no doubt that our city needs.”
Former Chief Roney Villa Nueva, a 41-year LAFD veteran, will serve as interim fire chief.
LAFD declined to comment on the removal of the Chief on Friday.
In a new interview with the media, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said fire chief Christine Crowley did not fully inform the seriousness of the weather leading up to the fires in Pallisard and Eton. Conan Nolan is reporting NBC4 News on Wednesday, February 19th, 2025 at 6pm.
Los Angeles meteorologists, the National Weather Service and others have repeated public warnings of the potentially life-threatening wind event that blew flames in Parisades in the Pacific Ocean on the morning of January 7th. The Palisade fire on the Los Angeles County coast burned through the entire neighborhood, making it the ninth fatal and third most destructive wildfire recorded in California.
In a statement to NBC4 this week, LAFD fought back against Bass, claiming that the department followed all standard preparatory procedures.
“Before the Palisades fire, LAFD emailed two separate media advisories, conducting multiple live and recorded media interviews on the expected extreme fire weather, and to help city officials take the upcoming future. We have notified us about weather events,” the agency said.
Los Angeles Chief Christine Crowley and Mayor Karen Bass attended the meeting Friday evening following Crawley’s remarks about the decision to cut budgets. Robert Kovacik is reporting NBC4 News’ report on Friday, January 10th, 2025 at 5pm.
Crowley, the first woman to lead the LAFD, got caught up in public nausea as the fire burned. Crowley was promoted to Los Angeles fire chief in 2022 and has been ramping up between the ranks of 3,400 members, at the point of confusion in the department consumed by Hayes, harassment and discrimination complaints, making her difficult for firefighters. They criticized the city for budget cuts, saying that it had been the case. To do their job.
Bass says budget cuts will not affect LAFD’s response to wildfires.
Crowley’s comments and her dropout with Bass prompted so much speculation about the safety of her job, that the union issued a statement at the time, ensuring that she was not fired.
A bus in Ghana as part of the Biden administration delegation admits that it is wrong to make that trip during the expected wind storm.
“Yeah, absolutely,” Bus said in an interview with NBCLA’s Conan Nolan. “There’s no question about that.”
Deputy Chief Christine Crowley was the first woman to lead the Los Angeles Fire Department and will be the first to become openly gay. Gordon Tokumatsu reported on NBC4 News on Tuesday, March 1, 2022.
The criticism that was criticized when Bass returned from his trip on January 8th said at the time, “I wasn’t physically here, but I’ve been in touch with many individuals who have been standing here for a long time. I was on the phone, on the plane, and almost every hour.”
Questions were also raised about preparations for the city and the fire department a few days before the Santa Ana storm that instigated the fire. The fire department couldn’t hold the firefighters who had worked the day before to increase staffing during the predicted wind event.
City officials have said there are many decisions that need to be scrutinized, including why there seem to be no additional engines placed at Pallisard and why more firefighters were not ordered to work. I agree.
Crawley said the decision was to prepare for a potential fire without knowing where the city would start, to prepare for a potential fire, to prepare for a potential fire, to prepare for a potential fire, to prepare for a potential fire, to prepare for a potential fire, to prepare for a potential fire, to prepare for a potential fire, to prepare for a potential fire, to prepare for a potential fire, to prepare for a potential fire, to prepare for a potential fire, to prepare for a potential fire, to prepare for a potential fire, to prepare for a potential fire, to prepare for a potential fire, I explained that it is.
Villanueva spoke at a press conference on Friday.
“I swear to people that the Los Angeles Fire Department will be prepared,” Villanueva said. “The Los Angeles Fire Department will respond, and the Los Angeles Fire Department will keep you safe.
“The love I have in this department is why I come back to this ability.”
