For the first time since firing Los Angeles City Fire Chief Kristen Crowley, Mayor Karen Bass took questions in a press conference Wednesday – pushing her to address the fallout.
While the press conference was held to discuss the city’s rebuilding and recovery efforts following the Palisades and Eaton fires, the questions quickly steered right into the controversy over Crowley’s dismissal.
Crowley was fired on Feb. 21 in a sudden announcement from Bass, who said Crowley’s removal after the Palisades Fire and other blazes in January was in the “best interests of Los Angeles‘ public safety, and for the operations of the Los Angeles Fire Department.”
The mayor’s decision has since drawn criticism from the public as well as City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, who accused Bass of “misrepresenting the facts” surrounding Crowley’s firing.
For example, earlier this week, United Firefighters of L.A. President Freddy Escobar claimed there weren’t enough working engines on the morning of the fire.
However, the mayor refuted that claim on Wednesday morning to KTLA’s Annie Rose Ramos, saying that there were 40 fire engines in working order that were not used.
“There are fire trucks that need repair, the fire department needs mechanics, there is no question about that,” said Bass. “But, 1,000 firefighters – many of those firefighters would have been able to be on the 40 fire trucks.”
The “1,000 firefighters” that Bass mentioned was in reference to her original statement on firing Crowley, claiming that there were firefighters that could have been on duty on the morning the fires broke out, but were instead sent home on Chief Crowley’s watch.
Bass was also asked about the lack of communication regarding why Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who was acting mayor when the Palisades Fire broke out, did not declare the city was in a state of emergency until hours after the fire was raging.
“I’m not sure that had any direct difference in terms of what was happening with the fires right then,” Bass responded. “It’s not like the emergency declaration was holding up the efforts to defeat the fires.”
Wednesday’s questions also again forced Bass to address why she didn’t immediately return to L.A. from Ghana when the Palisades Fire broke out.
“You do gain time coming back, but I will tell you that it’s not like there are hourly flights from Accra, Ghana, to the United States,” said Bass.
Ellina Abovian contributed to this article.
