Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has removed LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley effective immediately, following weeks of tension over her handling of last month’s deadly wildfires.
“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,” Bass said in a Friday statement, per NBC4 LA. “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 Palisades Fire, which erupted in early January, ranked as the ninth deadliest and third-most destructive wildfire on record in California.
Crowley and Bass have exchanged blows since the fire began, with Crowley blaming budget cuts enacted by Bass for hamstringing the LAFD’s ability to respond to large-scale…
