Mayor Karen Bass fires LA Fire Chief Kristin Crowley

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass fired Fire Chief Kristin Crowley who served as not only the first woman, but also the first openly out fire chief, after receiving pushback for her leadership regarding the Palisades Fire.

Bass issued a statement at noon on Friday ahead of the press conference regarding Crowley’s immediate removal.

“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,” said Bass. “We know that 1,000 firefighters that could have been on duty on the morning the fires broke out were instead sent home on Chief Crowley’s watch."

This move comes after Bass and Crowley disagreed on tensions surrounding the blame for the fires back in January. Crowley blamed Bass for budget cuts that she says impacted their response time for the Palisades Fire that resulted in thousands of structures to be damaged and destroyed. Shortly after Crowley spoke to the media regarding budget cuts approved by Mayor Bass, a petition for the removal of Bass as mayor began circulating and received 172,137 verified signatures.

Bass summoned Crowley into her quarters on Jan. 10, where they met for quite a while, after which rumors began to circulate about Crowley being fired.

Bass is claiming that Crowley did not alert or warn her of the incoming windstorm that was widely expected and publicized days in advance of Jan. 7, making the ideal conditions for fires to start in the high-risk areas of Pacific Palisades and Eaton Canyon.

“Furthermore, a necessary step to an investigation was the President of the Fire Commission telling Chief Crowley to do an after-action report on the fires. The Chief refused. These require her removal. 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.”

Former Chief Deputy Ronnie Villanueva will serve as interim fire chief. Villanueva is a Latino leader with over 40 years of experience in the LAFD. He will serve as interim chief as the search for the next fire chief is now underway.