Ex-LA fire chief fails to get job back after ouster over deadly wildfire

Former Chief Kristen Crowley appealed to the City Council to reverse Bass' decision over the wildfire devastation and the fire department's funding

The former Los Angeles fire chief who was ousted by Mayor Karen Bass after the most destructive wildfire in city history failed to win back her job Tuesday, falling short with her argument that her dismissal was based on false accusations about her conduct and decision-making.

Former Chief Kristen Crowley appealed to the City Council to reverse Bass' decision, which followed finger-pointing between Crowley and City Hall over the wildfire devastation and the fire department's funding.

The council voted 13-2 to shelve the proposal in what amounted to a show of support for Bass, a first-term Democrat who has been criticized for being in Africa as part of a presidential delegation on the day the fires started, even though weather reports had warned of dangerous wind and wildfire conditions in the days before she left.

The rift between the mayor and the chief created a sensitive political situation for Bass who has been trying to show a unified front as the city confronts the massive job of clearing and rebuilding incinerated areas. Bass already has announced she intends to seek reelection in 2026.

Bass fired Crowley on February 21, six weeks after the fire started. She praised Crowley in the firefighting effort's early going, but she said she later learned that an additional 1,000 firefighters could have been deployed on the day the blaze ignited. Furthermore, she said Crowley rebuffed a request to prepare a report on the fires that is a critical part of investigations into what happened and why.

One-thousand firefighters who could have been on the job fighting the fires were sent home on Crowley's watch, Bass said last month.

In her first extended comments since being dismissed, Crowley told the council Tuesday that she was the victim of multiple false accusations. She said she never refused to participate in the follow-up report on the fire, and that she couldn't deploy more firefighters during the blaze because engines and other equipment for them wasn't available because of budget cuts.

A fire chief, she said, should not be punished for "speaking openly and honestly.

Before voting, council members heard a mix of reactions from residents, activists, city employees and others, with some supporting Bass' decision and others urging the panel to reinstate Crowley. The city's unionised firefighters were among her most vocal supporters, saying she had been scapegoated and fired for speaking out about the need for more staff and funding.

Chuong Ho, a board member with the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, Local 112, told the council Crowley was dismissed for telling the truth.

Others said attacks intended to undermine the mayor were rooted in discrimination. Bass is the first Black woman to hold the post.

The Palisades Fire began January 7 in heavy winds. It destroyed or damaged nearly 8,000 homes, businesses and other structures, and killed at least 12 people in the Pacific Palisades, an affluent LA neighborhood. Another fire started that day in Altadena, a suburb east of LA, killing at least 17 people and destroying or damaging more than 10,000 homes or other buildings.

Bass has said Crowley never notified her of the looming danger before she departed, even though that was standard practice since she took office in December 2022.