As deadly wildfires continue to rage across Southern California, Los Angeles Fire Chief Kirstin Crowley criticized the city's leadership over its handling of the department's budget.
During the interview FOX News affiliate KTTV and On Friday, Crowley criticized Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass for failing to hold her department accountable to the thousands of Angelenos whose homes have been destroyed or damaged since Tuesday's devastating fire. I was asked three times in a row.
“Yes,” she answered.
“We're asking for adequate funding to ensure our firefighters can do their jobs so we can serve our communities,” Crowley told the outlet.
“From day one, we have identified significant gaps in service delivery and the ability of firefighters on the ground to accomplish their mission.”
Crowley said the department remains understaffed, underfunded and under-resourced, and argued that budget cuts will ultimately impact services.
“This is no longer sustainable,” she continued.
“So when we talk about budget requests and demands that sound alarm bells and are easily justified based on data, the real data is that the fire department is not doing what it takes to serve this beautiful city and this beautiful community that we have sworn to do.” It shows you what you need. That's what it is.
Basu was reportedly thousands of miles away in Africa to celebrate Ghana's presidential inauguration when the fire broke out, including reports that the city's fire department budget had been cut by $17.5 million ahead of this week's vicious fire. has been exposed to intense criticism.
The cuts to the fire department are the second-largest in Bass' 2024-25 budget, according to city statistics, as he prioritizes little-spent funding for the city's vast homeless population. is.
The City of Los Angeles budgeted $837 million for Bravest in fiscal year 2023-24, an astonishing 65% of the $1.3 billion earmarked for the homeless. According to Fox Business.
The resurfacing of the budget cuts has fueled a firestorm of critics who are already calling for Bass' resignation over the city's response to wildfires across the city.
“None of us in the fire department are politicians,” Crowley told Fox News.
“We took an oath to serve the public before ourselves and even before our families. But we need proper funding, and that's what's on my mind.”
Fires have broken out across Los Angeles, killing at least 10 people and forcing 150,000 people to evacuate.
It is estimated that approximately 10,000 structures were destroyed.
