Los Angeles’ former fire chief, Kristin Crowley, is firing back at Democratic Mayor Karen Bass with a legal claim that accuses the mayor of waging a “defamation and retaliation campaign” in the wake of February’s catastrophic Pacific Palisades fire. Crowley, who led the department for nearly three years, says she was scapegoated to protect Bass’ political image after the blaze killed 12 people and destroyed roughly 7,000 homes.
Crowley’s filing points directly at Bass’ decision to leave the country for a ceremony in Ghana as flames erupted back home — a choice that fueled public outrage. She claims Bass shifted blame onto her with false accusations that she had sent home 1,000 firefighters and left 40 fire engines idle during the emergency. In reality, Crowley’s lawyers say, every front-line engine was staffed and the department lacked the infrastructure to deploy 1,000 additional firefighters under the conditions that day.
The conflict between the two leaders had been simmering for months. Crowley had repeatedly warned that Bass’ $17.5 million budget cuts “severely limited the department’s capacity to prepare for, train for, and respond to large-scale emergencies.” Just weeks before the fire, she wrote a memo cautioning that resources were stretched dangerously thin. Yet after the blaze erupted, Bass initially praised the department’s response — until political backlash grew over her absence. According to the claim, the mayor then reversed course, falsely accusing Crowley of negligence.
The legal filing also recounts a heated January 10 meeting, where Bass allegedly berated Crowley for speaking to the media about funding shortfalls. Crowley’s ouster ultimately came on February 21, weeks after the fire was finally extinguished. Throughout the ordeal, the city’s 3,000-member firefighter union defended Crowley, crediting her as the first chief in decades to consistently fight for adequate resources.
Crowley’s claim is the legally required first step before suing a government entity in California. If a lawsuit follows, it could expose the inner workings of Los Angeles’ fire preparedness failures — and raise serious questions about how political calculations shaped the city’s response to one of its deadliest fires in decades.
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