News quickly spread after Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass fired Los Angeles fire chief Christine Crowley, and the city continues to tackle the devastation left behind by the Pacific Ocean’s Parisard wildfires. The reactions from Palisade residents and workers are mixed together, and the reason behind the mayor’s decision is unknown.
Burning out of the house that remains anonymous, Glenn says he saw it from his BLVD apartment in the sunset as the chaos unfolds around him. Hours after the base decision to fire Chief Crawley in the wake of the disaster, Glenn expressed uncertainty. “It’s too early to make a solid decision about it. That’s going to be a lot of speculation,” he said.
Tensions between Mayor Bass and Fire Chief Crawley escalated in the aftermath of the fire that began on January 7th, but Bus went on a trip abroad in Ghana as part of a Biden administration delegation.
The conflict has become stronger this week, with the bus accusing Crawley of not warning her in advance about the strong winds that fueled the wildfires in Palisade and Eton. These storms were widely anticipated and published before the fires ignited in Pallisad and Altadena in the Pacific Ocean.
Mario Para, a local worker in the area, suggested that the firefighter of the bus Crowley could be a retaliatory response to an outspoken criticism of the fire chief’s department’s lack of funds. “You’d think it’s kind of revenge from Karen Bass because you think the fire chief was very open about the lack of funds,” Pala said.
Ronald Schule, whose home survived the fire, has expressed concern that Mayor Bass is distracting responsibility. “When she is the mayor of Los Angeles and something goes wrong, it’s her fault,” pointed out.
Up until the fire, meteorologists, the National Weather Service and other experts repeatedly issued public warnings for potentially life-threatening wind events. These strong winds incited flames that morning in Pallisard, the Pacific Ocean. It became the ninth fatalest and third most destructive wildfire recorded in California.
In a statement to NBC4 this week, the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to the mayor’s claim. “Before the Palisades fire, LAFD will email two separate media advisories, conduct multiple live and recorded media interviews on the expected extreme fires, and city officials on upcoming weather events. “We have notified the department,” the department said.
However, others noted that many aspects of what happened before and after the Palisade fire are still unknown. “We’re still gathering information and everyone needs to pause,” said Kevin Noonan, whose home was spared by the fire.
“It’s so fast, so intense, I don’t think anyone is completely ready,” said Brian Dobiac, whose family lost their home in the fire.
Neighbors like Dobiac and Noonan emphasized the importance of waiting for more facts to emerge before making final judgments about the situation.
The mayor issued a statement Friday ahead of the press conference to announce 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 fired fire. – Fire orders reject our firefighter heroism. I did. Needs.”
Former Chief Roney Villa Nueva, a 41-year veteran of LAFD, will serve as interim fire chief.
“I believe that everyone is actually doing the best job they can and I think that shows. I’m sure there are a lot of problems. It’s hard to navigate. Perhaps it’s a good thing. I don’t know who can do it perfectly,” Noonan.
Later Friday, the mayor’s office issued a statement confirming that Crawley will remain at the fire department at a lower rank.
“After Mayor Bus removed Christine Crowley as fire chief, the mayor’s office has been informed that she exercised her civil servant rights to stay with the fire department at a lower rank,” the statement read. “Her duties will be assigned by interim chief Villanueva.”
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