Six weeks after the deadliest wildfires in city history, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has fired Fire Chief Christine Crowley, the AP reported.
“Our city needs new fire leadership,“ Bass said in a statement. “We know that 1,000 firefighters who could have been on duty the morning the fires broke out were sent home instead,” Bass said. She added that the fire chief had refused to prepare a “follow-up report” regarding the fires, which she called a necessary step in the investigation.
The Palisades Fire started in strong winds on Jan. 7, destroying or damaging nearly 8,000 homes, businesses and other structures and killing at least 12 people in the Los Angeles neighborhood. Another wind-driven fire started the same day in the suburb of Altadina, killing at least 17 people and destroying or damaging more than 10,000 homes and other structures.
Bass has come under fire for being in Africa on the day of the fires as part of a presidential delegation, even though weather forecasts had warned of dangerous fire conditions in the days leading up to her departure, the AP reported.