Los Angeles is experiencing some post-wildfire chaos amid criticism of the town’s response and assaults from MAGA and right-wing media.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass introduced Friday that she fired Los Angeles Fireplace Division Chief Kristin Crowley for her refusal to conduct an “after action report” on the fires that devastated the town in January.
“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. 1,000 firefighters were sent home on Chief Crowley’s watch the day the fires broke out. Chief Crowley refused to do an after action report on the fires,” she wrote on X.
“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,” Bass wrote in a press launch Friday.
Within the meantime, Bass mentioned within the press launch that she has appointed former Chief Deputy Ronnie Villanueva to function interim hearth chief.
Bass has drawn immense criticism for her absence when the fires first broke out and for lackluster decision-making as properties and neighborhoods burned. She is in search of reelection in 2026—a marketing campaign she hasn’t backed away from since she introduced it in July.
Crowley has been a lightning rod for MAGA’s struggle on Variety, Fairness, and Inclusion efforts in right-wing media.
After the fires, Fox Information’ Laura Ingraham argued that “DEI, illegal immigrants, that is a priority for California,” however when individuals want water as a result of their properties are burning, “apparently they’re out of luck.”
DOGE bro Elon Musk additionally took it upon himself to push a ridiculous declare that the fires have been the consequence of LAFD’s liberal insurance policies of hiring ladies and folks of coloration.
“DEI means people DIE,” he wrote alongside a video of Crowley.
In the meantime, President Donald Trump pushed the debunked idea that water conservation insurance policies brought about the devastation of California’s wildfires. He later threatened to withhold federal wildfire help until California modified its voter identification legal guidelines and supported his mass deportation efforts.
Trump later purported the insane notion that he gave a army order to “turn on the water” in California.
“The United States Military just entered the Great State of California and, under Emergency Powers, TURNED ON THE WATER flowing abundantly from the Pacific Northwest, and beyond. The days of putting a Fake Environmental argument, over the PEOPLE, are OVER. Enjoy the water, California!!!” Trump wrote on Reality Social.
The feud between Crowley and Bass has remained embarrassingly public for the reason that fires broke out in January. Whereas the fires unfold, Crowley appeared on Fox 11 Los Angeles to chastise metropolis funds cuts, alluding to Bass having failed the hearth division.
“Since Day one, this is my third budget as we’re going into ‘25, ‘26. What I can tell you is we are still understaffed, we’re still under-resourced, and we’re still underfunded,” she mentioned.
Bass’s transfer to oust Crowley indicators a calculated effort to alter the narrative forward of her 2026 reelection bid, repositioning herself as a frontrunner as the town begins its years-long restoration.
It’s unclear whether or not new LAFD management is sufficient to restore belief within the metropolis’s emergency response, or if she’s merely caving to Trump.
