Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass comes under scrutiny as California wildfires rage
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass showed no emotion, declining to answer reporters’ questions after being asked about her initial absence as wildfires ravaged her district.
“Do you owe citizens an apology for being absent while their homes were on fire? Madam Mayor, do you regret cutting millions of dollars from the fire department budget?” Bass waited to get off the plane after a trip to Ghana on Wednesday, Sky News reporter David Blevins asked.
“Do you really have nothing to say to citizens today?” he added.
California wildfires sweep through Los Angeles County, forcing thousands to evacuate
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass listens to a speech from Gov. Gavin Newsom as she inspects fire damage in the city on Wednesday. (Mayor Karen Bass/X)
Bass refused to greet reporters and continued to ignore reporters’ questions and looked at the ground.
“No apology to them? Do you think you should go to Ghana when this is happening at home?” he said.
“Madam Mayor, let me ask you again, do you have anything to say to the citizens when you come back today?” he said.
The Palisades Fire destroyed a building in Los Angeles’ Pacific Palisades neighborhood on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)
At a news conference in Los Angeles late Wednesday afternoon, Bass said she took the “quickest route back,” adding that she used a military aircraft to arrive quickly.
“I took the quickest route back, which included flying on a military aircraft, which facilitated our communications,” she said, acknowledging that she was thousands of miles away when the first wildfires broke out on Tuesday. “So I was able to make phone calls throughout the flight.”
Los Angeles mayor slashed fire budget last year, prioritizing homeless population
“We are fighting for you and everyone in Los Angeles,” she said, appearing to read from a prepared speech.
Bass’s leadership has been under scrutiny as many blame her for the disaster, noting that she slashed budgets for critical firefighting units and plowed them into the city’s homeless population.
Fiscal year 2023-2024, Los Angeles The budget provided for the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) is $837 million, about 65% of the $1.3 billion homeless budget.
LAFD budget reduced from 2023-2024 to 2024-2025 budgety US$17,553,814, increasing from US$837,191,237 to US$819,637,423.
Strong winds fueled devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area, destroying vehicles and homes and forcing evacuations Wednesday at the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California. (Reuters/David Swanson)
Bass arrived on the scene as wildfires continued to rage in Los Angeles County and hundreds of thousands of residents were under evacuation orders.
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Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna told Fox News that as of Wednesday afternoon, five people had died in the Eaton Fire.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Bass’s office for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Breck Dumas contributed to this report.
