We support our Publishers and Content Creators. You can view this story on their website by CLICKING HERE.

On Friday, Mayor Karen Bass reportedly intended to fire Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley after Crowley threw Bass under the bus in an interview. 

Advertisement

Crowley publicly criticized the mayor’s budget cuts to the LAFD during a televised interview. In her remarks, she highlighted critical issues such as inadequate funding, staffing shortages, and operational readiness, warning that the city was unprepared for the current fire season, which has already displaced over 100,000 residents.

“Did the city of Los Angeles fail you and your department and our city?” asked FOX LA’s Gigi Graciette.

“It’s my job to stand up as a chief and exactly say justifiably what the Fire Department needs to operate to meet the demands of the community,” Crowley replied.

“Did they fail you?” Graciette pressed.

“That is our job, and I tell you, that’s why I’m here,” Crowley responded. “So let’s get us what we need so our firefighters can do their jobs.”

“Did they fail you?” Graciette asked again.

“Yes.” 

Advertisement

Sources originally indicated to the Daily Mail that Crowley had been fired, but that didn’t happen.

A source initially told DailyMail.com on Friday afternoon that the fire chief was fired, but the Mayor’s office told ABC7 Crowley still had her job. The office’s official statement to the outlet said the pair ‘met’, without any reference to whether Crowley remained in her position.

‘The Mayor and Chief met. The priority remains fighting these fires and protecting Angelenos,’ the statement said.

But ABC7 reporter Josh Haskell added on social media site X that the Mayor’s office had officially denied the claims that Crowley had been fired.

When Crowley returned from the meeting, she told her office staff that she was ‘not fired yet’, the source said on Friday evening.

‘She was going into the meeting, telling everybody goodbye, because she was told the whole purpose of the meeting was to fire her,’ a source close to Crowley’s office said.

‘When she was summoned into the meeting, it was with the direct purpose to fire her.

‘Whatever happened in that meeting, minds got changed.

“Either Bass realized it would be suicide to fire her, and came to her senses, or Crowley talked her out of it,” the source told the Daily Mail. “She came back in the office briefly, told her staff, ‘I’m not fired yet’ and went into a meeting with all her chiefs.”

Advertisement

The wildfires have laid bare a troubling mix of incompetence and corruption at both the state and local levels, with leaders more focused on self-preservation than addressing the crisis. Crowley’s fire department has faced sharp criticism for prioritizing DEI initiatives over essential readiness and preparedness, while Bass has been under fire for her leadership failures and controversial budget cuts. Nearly firing Crowley appears to be a calculated move by Bass to deflect blame. Ultimately, it seems like everyone is more concerned with protecting their positions than effectively managing the wildfire emergency.

This dysfunction during such a critical time is troubling.