By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2025-01-18 20:59:19 | Updated at 2025-01-19 01:20:23
4 hours ago
As containment of the deadly Los Angeles wildfires continues to grow, the heat remains on the city’s embattled fire chief — who is reportedly facing intensifying calls to resign as Mayor Karen Bass revealed plans for an external probe into the department’s handling of the devastating infernos.
The Eaton Fire is 73% contained while the Palisades Fire is 43% suppressed as of Saturday, according to Cal Fire. At least 27 people have died and thousands of structures have been reduced to ashes since the historic fires broke out earlier this month.
Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley was the subject of a blistering five-page letter from current and retired LAFD Bravest demanding she step aside immediately after failing to properly manage its response to the destructive wildfires, according to NewsNation, which obtained a copy of the letter earlier this week.
“If you had done things right and prepared the LAFD for an incident of this magnitude, fatalities would have been reduced, and property would have been saved,” stated the letter, which added that her resignation “would be best for the citizens of Los Angeles.”
It further blasted Crowley, who became LA’s first female fire chief in 2022, for letting over 125 senior commanders retire under her watch, creating a crippling power void across the city’s different firehouses.
“While no one is saying that this fire could have been stopped, there is no doubt among all of us that if you had done things right and prepared the LAFD for an incident of this magnitude, fatalities would have been reduced, and property would have been saved,” the letter sent Monday declared.
The missive came amid reports of a swelling rift between Crowley and Bass — and only added to the torrent of controversy surrounding the chief’s leadership during the most expensive wildfires in California history.
Crowley had told local media that City Hall had failed her department and Angelenos because the LAFD was understaffed and underfunded, adding that the situation is “no longer sustainable.”
Earlier this week, Bass revealed an external investigation will be conducted into LA’s wildfire response, but “internally we absolutely are looking back at what happened.”
“We need to look back at everything that happened,” Bass told reporters Friday. “But to me, over the last week, the most important thing was to get past the fires to make sure that on Monday and Tuesday, we’re not facing a danger again.”
Bass also named Steve Soboroff, a former Los Angeles police commission president, as the City of Angels’ “chief recovery officer” to lead its rebuilding efforts.
“Our absolute priority is to return Angelenos to their homes and rebuild. Steve knows our communities, he knows how to activate City Hall, he knows how to engage the public, business, non-profit and philanthropic resources needed for this massive effort,” Bass said.
“There is no one better equipped to create our rebuilding plan. We will work closely together to move a strategy forward to rebuild neighborhoods that are stronger, more resilient and more united than ever before.”
The Los Angeles wildfires have killed 27 people, razed 12,000 structures and scorched more than 60 square miles of land.
The fires have even further delayed the resentencing hearing for Lyle and Erik Menendez.
The brothers — who were convicted of gunning down their parents Jose and Kitty in their tony Beverly Hills mansion in 1989 — were scheduled to appear before a judge on Jan. 31, but will now have to wait until March.
