L.A.’s lesbian fire chief under fire by bigots and blazes

This story was originally published by Los Angeles Blade.

Though climate change and electrical systems are the biggest culprits behind the fires in the Greater Los Angeles area, the alt-right is pointing the finger of blame to LGBTQ+ people – particularly toward lesbian Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley and her DEI measures.

While L.A braces itself for ‘critical to extremely critical,’ weather conditions that will pick up again on Monday evening, the LGBTQ+ communities of L.A brace themselves for how they will continue to be used as political pawns at the peak of disaster.

Alt-right accusations

Podcaster Megyn Kelly accused Chief Crowley of "focusing on diversity instead of planning for disaster," on The Megyn Kelly Show. The former Fox journalist was referencing the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion measures that Chief Crowley advocated for in a strategic plan for 2023 to 2026. 

Kelly slammed Chief Crowley saying "...who gives a sh-t if the fire chief is gay, I’m sorry but who gives a flying fig about who she sleeps with."

Elon Musk and Bill Ackman both took to social media to attack the DEI initiatives – with little to no evidence. Musk boldly stated on X that “DEI means people DIE,” but never posted anything that backed up that correlation. 

In 2022, Crowley took the position as LAFD Chief and during that same year, established a DEI bureau. Musk and Ackman shared the video of Kelly alleging that Crowley is at fault for the fires and have not acknowledged the evidence from multiple reports that point the finger of blame toward the city’s Department of Water and Power. 

At a news conference, the department said that “three million gallons of water were available when the Palisades fire started,” but the demand was four times greater than they had ever seen in their system. 

Janisse Quiñones, chief executive and chief engineer of the LADPW, stated that they pushed their system "to the extreme," for 15 hours straight, which in turn significantly lowered the water pressure. 

The rapidly-growing list of critics speaking against Chief Crowley are not only leaving themselves open to defamation lawsuits, but also spreading misinformation that turns the attention from the real culprits like climate change and infrastructure failures by the Department of Water and Power.

Climate change

Strong Santa Ana winds and drought in Los Angeles have produced the deadly conditions for what many in the region are calling an apocalyptic disaster. The Greater Los Angeles area had a total of five fires burning simultaneously since strong winds picked up on Tuesday, spanning a total of 39,862 acres – and counting.

Multiple studies done across the United States suggest that climate change is a direct link to increases in North American fires because global warming leads to drought and other extreme weather in the West. 

A 2016 analysis, suggests that “anthropogenic climate change will continue to chronically enhance the potential for western U.S. forest fire activity while fuels are not limiting.”

Fire Chief Crowley's action

On Oct. 30 2023, Chief Crowley submitted the 2024-25 fiscal year annual budget request, outlining a total budget request of over $1.1 billion dollars to cover funding for trainings, adding dispatchers, funding for resources in response to the 2023 Standards of Cover deployment analysis, continuation of the wildfire suppression, land fuel management support through the continuing implementation of a paid Hand Crew civilian program, continuation of reimbursable mutual aid sworn overtime, and staffing resources and expenses for Air Operations support, among many other demands. The budget outlines the many efforts and demands that Chief Crowley laid out in an effort to expand department resources and get more hands-on assistance.

On Dec. 17, 2024, a month before the fires spread across L.A, killing nearly a dozen people and displacing over 100,000 others, Chief Crowley sent a memo to the office of Mayor Karen Bass, stating the concerns she had in regards to the “challenges due to the elimination of critical civilian positions and a $7 million reduction in Overtime Variable Staffing Hours,” reads the memo. 

Number one on Crowley’s list of goals outlined in her Strategic Plan, is to “deliver exceptional public safety and emergency services,” while other goals also mentioned providing a safe and healthy work environment and embracing technological advancements. 

“These budgetary reductions have adversely affected the Department’s ability to maintain core operations such as technology and communications infrastructure, payroll processing, training, fire prevention and community education,” continues the memo signed by Chief Crowley. 

In an interview on Friday, Chief Crowley answered the question about the budget cuts, saying “Yes, it was cut and it did impact our ability to provide service.” 

Shortly following that interview, a petition calling for the resignation of Mayor Karen Bass started to circulate. The petition quickly gained traction, getting over 100,000 signatures. 

Mayor Bass then summoned Chief Crowley to her quarters at City Hall for a long meeting, where it was rumored that the fate of Chief Crowley’s career was on the line. Bass even missed the nightly media brief of the wildfires where she was due to be a featured speaker. 

The Daily Mail reported that Bass had fired Crowley, but the Fire Department issued a statement stating that it was not true and that ‘it is important to note that the Fire Chief was not dismissed and is in full command of the LAFD.’

Mayor Bass stated in a wildfire briefing that they “are both focused on [their] urgent needs to mitigate the devastating wildfires.” 

Chief Crowley remains committed toward using the resources available to combat the fires still running amok throughout Greater Los Angeles, such as the Pacific Palisades fire and the Eaton Canyon fire, which have burnt through 23,713 acres and 14,117 acres, respectively.