LA Mayor Karen Bass accused of misleading the public after her staff received multiple wildfire alerts before she left for Ghana as fires swept through Los Angeles

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is facing intense scrutiny over her decision to leave the city for Ghana just days before devastating wildfires erupted, despite warnings issued to her staff about extreme fire risks.

The backlash has only grown as new evidence suggests her administration had ample information about the impending disaster but failed to act.

Warnings Sent, But Bass Left Anyway

On January 3, more than a dozen of Bass’ aides received an email from LA’s Emergency Management Department (EMD), alerting them to “high confidence in damaging winds and elevated fire conditions occurring next week,” according to the Los Angeles Times.

However, Bass claims she was never informed of the message before she left for Ghana on January 4.

During her trip, she attended the inauguration of Ghana’s new president and a cocktail party at the U.S. embassy on January 7—the same day wildfires broke out in Los Angeles, leaving a trail of destruction.

Her absence sparked widespread condemnation, with critics accusing her of negligence during a crisis.

Shifting Blame: Fire Chief Becomes the Scapegoat

As criticism mounted, Bass took action—but not against her own staff.

Instead, she fired LA Fire Chief Kristin Crowley, claiming the chief failed to notify her directly about the fire threat.

“Before other major weather emergencies, the Mayor—or at minimum, the Mayor’s Chief of Staff—has received a direct call from the Fire Chief, flagging the severity of the situation.

This time, that call never came,” Deputy Mayor Zach Seidl said, echoing Bass’ defense.

But critics aren’t buying it. City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, who supports Crowley, pushed back, saying: “(Bass) keeps saying, ‘I wouldn’t have left had I known.’

But her staff did know. This verifies that her staff was notified of the potential threat by EMD, whose responsibility it is to let us know of these potential weather events.”

Fire Warnings Were Clear and Escalating

The National Weather Service had been sounding the alarm since late December, holding daily briefings on the increasing fire risk.

By January 2—two days before Bass departed—the agency explicitly warned of a DAMAGING OFFSHORE WIND EVENT in Los Angeles and prolonged Red Flag conditions.

By January 5, while Bass was already in Ghana, the fire risk level escalated to “extreme.”

On January 6, the day before the fires broke out, the National Weather Service issued a dire warning on social media: “HEADS UP!!! A LIFE-THREATENING, DESTRUCTIVE, Widespread Windstorm is expected Tue afternoon-Weds morning across much of Ventura/LA Co.”

Despite all these warnings, Bass did not return to Los Angeles until January 8—more than 24 hours after the fires started tearing through neighborhoods.

Catastrophic Damage and Mounting Criticism

The wildfires were devastating.

The Palisades Fire, fueled by heavy winds on January 7, destroyed or severely damaged nearly 8,000 homes, businesses, and structures, killing at least 12 people in the affluent LA neighborhood.

Another massive fire erupted the same day in Altadena, a suburban community to the east.

That blaze killed at least 17 people and wiped out over 10,000 homes and buildings.

Amid the destruction, Bass tried to shift focus onto Crowley, claiming an additional 1,000 firefighters could have been deployed that day but were instead sent home.

However, the Los Angeles Times reports that Crowley had previously raised concerns about the fire department’s staffing and budget constraints—issues that existed under Bass’ leadership.

Calls for Accountability and Potential Recall

The fallout from Bass’ absence and her subsequent firing of Crowley has sparked a political firestorm.

A committee, largely comprised of Republicans, is now actively fundraising for a recall election that could remove her from office.

Meanwhile, the firefighters’ union has come out strongly against Bass, arguing that Crowley is being unfairly blamed.

“The reality is our fire department has been understaffed and under-resourced for years—including during Mayor Bass’ time in office,” the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, Local 112, said in a statement.

The union pointed to budget cuts that affected overtime, brush clearance, and civilian staffing, adding that nearly 100 fire engines, trucks, and ambulances remain out of commission due to lack of maintenance staff.

What’s Next for Bass?

Bass continues to stand by her decision to fire Crowley, maintaining that she was never personally informed of the fire threat before leaving.

However, with mounting evidence that her administration was warned well in advance, the scandal is unlikely to fade anytime soon.

As the city grapples with the aftermath of the fires, Bass now faces an uphill battle to restore public trust—and possibly, a fight to keep her job.