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After Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass fired Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley, the news quickly spread, and the city continues to grapple with the devastation left behind by the Pacific Palisades wildfire. Reactions from residents and workers in the Palisades are mixed, with many unsure of the reasons behind the mayor’s decision.
Glenn, a man whose home burned down, asking to remain anonymous, says he watched from his Sunset Blvd apartment as the chaos unfolded around him. Hours after Bass’s decision to fire Fire Chief Crowley in the wake of the disaster, Glenn expressed uncertainty. “It’s too early to make a firm decision on that; it’s gonna be a lot of conjecture back-and-forth,” he said.
The tension between Mayor Bass and Fire Chief Crowley escalated in the aftermath of the fires that began on Jan. 7, while Bass was on an overseas trip in Ghana as part of a Biden Administration delegation.
The conflict grew stronger this week, with Bass accusing Crowley of failing to warn her in advance about the high winds that fueled the Palisades and Eaton wildfires. These windstorms had been widely anticipated and publicized days before the fires ignited in Pacific Palisades and Altadena.
Mario Parra, a local worker in the area, suggested that Bass’s firing of Crowley might be a retaliatory response to the Fire Chief’s outspoken criticism of the department’s underfunding. “I think it’s probably some type of revenge from Karen Bass just because I think the fire chief was very open about being underfunded,” said Parra.
Ronald Schur, whose home survived the fire, expressed concern that Mayor Bass was deflecting blame. “When she’s the mayor of Los Angeles and something goes wrong, it’s her fault,” Schur noted.
Leading up to the fires, meteorologists, the National Weather Service, and other experts had repeatedly issued public warnings of the potentially life-threatening wind event. These high winds fanned the flames that morning in Pacific Palisades, where the fire burned entire neighborhoods. It went on to become the ninth deadliest and third-most destructive wildfire on record in California.
In a statement to NBC4 this week, the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to the mayor’s claims. “Prior to the Palisades Fire, the LAFD emailed two separate media advisories, conducted multiple live and recorded media interviews about the predicted extreme fire weather, and notified City Officials about the upcoming weather event,” the department said.
Others, however, pointed out that many aspects of what happened before and during the Palisades Fire are still unclear. “We’re still gathering information, and everyone just needs to take a pause,” said Kevin Noonan, whose home was spared by the fire.
“This was so fast, so hard that I don’t think anyone could’ve been prepared completely,” said Brian Doviac, whose family lost their home in the fire.
Neighbors like Doviac and Noonan emphasized the importance of waiting for more facts to emerge before making a final judgment on the situation.
The mayor issued a statement Friday ahead of a news conference to announce her decision to remove Crowley.
“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. “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.”
Former Chief Deputy Ronnie Villanueva, a 41-year veteran of the LAFD, will serve as the interim fire chief.
“I actually believe everyone’s doing the best job they can, and I think it shows. I’m sure there’s a lot of problems. It’s a hard thing to navigate. I don’t know anyone who could probably do it perfectly,” shared Noonan.
Later on Friday, the mayor’s office released a statement confirming that Crowley will remain with the Fire Department at a lower rank.
“Following Mayor Bass’ removal of Kristin Crowley as Fire Chief, the Mayor’s Office was informed that she has exercised her Civil Service rights to stay with the Fire Department at a lower rank,” the statement read. “Her duties will be assigned by Interim Chief Villanueva.”
