Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced Friday (Saturday AEST) that she has fired Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) Chief Kristin Crowley, partly because of her response to last month’s destructive Palisades Fire, one of the most devastating wildfires in California history. Bass stated that relieving the chief of her duties was “in the best interest of public safety in Los Angeles and the operations of the Los Angeles Fire Department.”
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02-24, 2025According to a statement from the mayor's office, the 25-year LAFD veteran will remain with the fire department in a lower-ranking position under civil service rules, with duties to be assigned by the interim fire chief. Crowley released a statement Saturday, saying that leading the department was "an absolute honor."
She said, "The actions I have taken and the decisions I have made as fire chief have always been in the best interest of caring for our firefighters so they can care for our communities." The disastrous Palisades Fire ravaged Los Angeles’ Pacific Palisades community, as well as unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County and the city of Malibu, killing 12 people and burning nearly 24,000 acres since it began on January 7, upending the lives of thousands who were suddenly told to evacuate, or left with only the ruins of their homes and family memories.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection estimates that more than 7,800 structures were damaged or destroyed in the Palisades Fire. Crowley faced criticism in the face of the destructive fire, with accusations that firefighters were too slow to respond to the Palisades Fire and that evacuation orders should have been issued sooner. Bass also faced criticism for being in Ghana when the Palisades Fire broke out, despite warnings about fire weather conditions having been issued at the time.
At the time, she was overseas attending the inauguration of President John Dramani Mahama as part of a U.S. presidential delegation. Meanwhile, Crowley publicly expressed concern about a $27.3 million ($17.4 million USD) budget cut to the department for 2025, which included reducing overtime staffing. "Any budget cuts are going to negatively impact our ability to deliver service," she told CNN's Jake Tapper last month, adding that she had previously warned city leaders that the department was severely understaffed and under-resourced.
Bass cited two specific reasons "necessitating her removal," namely firefighters being sent home on the morning the fire broke out, and Crowley’s lack of cooperation with parts of an investigation. “We know that on the morning the fire broke out, 1,000 firefighters who should have been on duty were instead sent home under Chief Crowley’s command,” Bass said in the statement. In addition, as part of an investigation into the wildfire response, the president of the Los Angeles Fire Commission asked Crowley to do an after-action report this week, “and the chief refused,” Bass said.
CNN has reached out to Crowley for further comment. Bass said at a news conference Friday afternoon that she did not know the reason for Crowley’s refusal. Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath released a statement after Crowley’s removal, saying that the report “is the appropriate mechanism to review everything that happened so we can affirm what worked and improve what didn’t,” adding that it’s critical to accurately answer the public’s questions.
When asked why she didn’t fire Crowley sooner, Bass said, “I don’t do anything in the middle of an emergency.” Bass has appointed former Deputy Chief Ronnie Villanueva as interim fire chief, a 41-year veteran of the department. Villanueva retired seven months ago from his position as deputy chief of emergency operations for the department.
Villanueva said at a news conference with Bass, “My commitment to the mayor, to our firefighters and to the people of Los Angeles is that the Los Angeles City Fire Department will be prepared. The Los Angeles City Fire Department will respond, and the Los Angeles City Fire Department will keep you safe.” Following Crowley's removal, some have expressed discontent with the mayor's decision. Real estate developer and former mayoral candidate Rick Caruso called the move "deeply disappointing," saying city leaders should be held accountable for their own actions, not deflect blame.
Caruso said, “Chief Crowley has served Los Angeles well and has been honest about the deep and ill-considered budget cuts the Bass administration has made to the LAFD. This courage to speak truth is brave, and I admire her. Honesty should not be grounds for termination among senior officials. The mayor's decision to ignore warnings and leave the city was her own.” Freddy Escobar, president of the Los Angeles City Firefighters Union, said the union was "outraged" by the firing, saying Crowley "is being made a scapegoat" and was fired for telling the truth.
Escobar said, “The truth is our fire department has been underfunded and under-resourced for years, including during Mayor Bass’ tenure. I have known Chief Crowley for over 20 years. She is a person of integrity and a true leader.” He said Crowley was willing to participate in an investigation, but did not believe the Fire Commission was the appropriate body to conduct it, as it is a management body tasked with auditing rather than investigating the fire department.
Los Angeles City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, along with other city council members and local officials, supported Bass’ decision to remove Crowley and appoint Villanueva. Mariam Zall, honorary chair of the Pacific Palisades Community Council, also supported Bass. “No after-the-fact action will change this disaster, and no one will forget it. Lives have been upended, and the recovery ahead will be long. But acknowledging that major mistakes were made, and that accountability is a cornerstone of public trust, is important, and this is a good step in that direction,” Zall said in a statement.
In the months leading up to Crowley’s removal, Bass and the city’s fire department have been embroiled in heated debate over their immediate response to the Palisades Fire. While Bass faced backlash for her absence and budget cuts, Crowley received criticism for communication issues and delayed deployment of firefighters. “We worked well together. Now, were there disagreements along the way? Of course, there were,” Bass said Friday.
In the days before the fire, the National Weather Service in Los Angeles issued numerous warnings about dangerous weather conditions, including damaging windstorms. "This was an event with very long lead times, not only that we were expecting a strong windstorm, but there were particularly dangerous conditions, red flag warnings, fire weather conditions," said Ariel Cohen, a meteorologist with the agency.
Fueled by strong winds, the Palisades Fire broke out around 10:30 a.m. PT on January 7, when Bass was traveling in Ghana, a trip that was announced by the White House earlier that month. About eight hours later, as the fire rapidly spread and firefighters struggled to contain the blaze, the LAFD urged all off-duty firefighters to call in to report their availability.
Bass said she remained in "constant contact" with local, federal and county officials as she "returned as quickly as possible" to California. She arrived in the U.S. early on January 8. Later, the mayor told KTTV that the trip was a mistake, but that Crowley didn't call her ahead of the trip to warn her or do what she called "normal preparations."
"Every time there is a weather emergency, or even just the hint of a weather emergency, the chief calls me directly. That did not happen this time," Bass said at Friday's news conference. Bass added that Crowley only spoke with her after the Palisades Fire had started. The department refuted Bass’ claim that Crowley did not notify her in advance about the strong winds that fueled the Palisades and Eaton wildfires, saying it followed proper preparedness protocols.
“Prior to the Palisades Fire, the LAFD disseminated two separate media advisories via email, conducted numerous on-scene and recorded media interviews regarding the predicted extreme fire weather, and notified city officials of the impending weather event,” the LAFD told KNBC in a statement. In the wake of the Palisades Fire, exhausted LAFD firefighters battled several other major fires, including the Kenneth, Sunset, Hearst and Sepulveda fires.
Across Southern California, countless raging fires have burned more than 50,000 acres, while these two most destructive blazes alone caused 29 deaths and damaged or destroyed more than 18,000 structures. Following the spread of fires throughout the region, Crowley also criticized the city’s budget cuts to the department, insisting that it affected their ability to fight what she called “one of the most formidable natural disasters in LA’s history.” Crowley said she had been warning city leaders for the past three years that the fire department “needed help.”
“Cutting $17 million from our budget and taking away our civilian positions, like our mechanics, has and will continue to severely impact our ability to repair our equipment,” Crowley told CNN this January. Crowley said more than 100 pieces of fire equipment were out of service, and 62 fire stations were needed. She said the department’s call volume has increased by 55% since 2010, but there were not enough firefighters to respond.
Bass insisted that the budget cuts did not hinder the LAFD’s ability to fight wildfires. “I think if you look back at the cuts that were made, there was nothing that impacted what we have dealt with over the last few days,” she said in early January. On Friday, as Crowley was ousted nearly three years after becoming the department’s first female and LGBTQ fire chief, Bass defended her leadership during the crisis.
“As mayor, the buck stops with me. I am responsible,” Bass said. She said the investigation into the wildfire response will continue and that the fire department’s budget may be increased. Bass said her office will also lead a national search for a new permanent fire chief. “There’s no turmoil in the city. I am happy that the work to rebuild, to restore, to clean up the fire, to clean up the debris, is ahead of schedule,” Bass said.
