As the most destructive wildfire in L.A. history ripped through Pacific Palisades neighborhoods this week, Mayor Karen Bass was visibly missing in action. Bass had taken a trip to Ghana in West Africa. She was invited as part of a presidential delegation to attend the inauguration of President John Dramani Mahama.
The Palisades Fire, which would eventually stretch from Malibu to parts of Santa Monica, was not the only inferno the city was battling. Another large fire had broken out in Sylmar. A smaller blaze had to be extinguished in the Sepulveda Basin in Van Nuys.
With Bass out of the country, the job of informing and reassuring the public fell to Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, the acting mayor. Some said Harris-Dawson seemed unprepared to respond to a crisis of such magnitude. He wasn't overly visible or proactive at press conferences or in media interviews. The public received a patchwork of updates from Harris-Dawson and Councilmember Traci Park, the city and county fire chiefs, and county supervisors.
As the Los Angeles Times notes, “with Bass away from the cameras, real estate developer Rick Caruso — her opponent in the 2022 mayoral election — swept in to fill the information gap, blasting the city’s handling of the disaster on multiple news outlets.”
For the first 24 hours, an Angeleno turning on any local radio station was more apt to hear from Caruso than the city’s mayor or acting mayor. He essentially accused Bass of letting the city burn.
Frustrations over the perceived leadership vacuum grew when firefighters reported that the hydrants they were using to extinguish blazes in the Palisades had run dry. The situation, which was apparently caused by a water pressure issue, impeded their ability to hold back flames for several hours.
As criticism of the mayor intensified, several local officials rushed to her defense.
“Trust me, she’s very engaged. Very engaged,” County Supervisor Kathryn Barger insisted.
“Even though I may not see the mayor, I feel her presence,” said Sheriff Robert Luna.
The mayor’s staff say she was in constant contact with officials back home as she moved swiftly to get back to the U.S. Bass arrived in L.A. on Wednesday afternoon.
“I took the fastest route back, which included being on a military plane, which facilitated our communications," she told reporters. "So I was able to be on the phone the entire time of the flight."
As soon as she got off the plane, Bass was pelted with accusatory questions from a reporter with Britain’s Sky News.
“Do you owe the citizens an apology for being absent while their homes were burning?” he asked.
The mayor remained silent.
“Elon Musk says that you are utterly incompetent. Are you considering your position?" the reporter continued. "Do you think you should have been visiting Ghana while this was unfolding back home?”
There were no large wildfires burning when Bass first left for Ghana. There was, however, an extreme wind advisory and red flag warnings in effect. Bass herself had warned about the severe risk of wind damage and fire in the days leading up to the crisis.
Bass’ 24-hour absence was primarily a public relations mishap. A more salient point of criticism began circulating Wednesday as people re-visited details of the city’s latest budget. The spending plan cut the fire department’s budget by nearly $18 million.
The reduction “was mostly absorbed by leaving many administrative jobs at the fire department unfilled, but that left about $7 million that had to be cut from its overtime budget -- which was earmarked for training, fire prevention, and other key functions,” according to NBC News.
The city’s fire chief warned just last month that the funding cuts had “severely limited” the fire department’s ability to respond to large-scale emergencies.
Bass says she is confident that the reductions did not have any bearing on the response to the Palisades fire this week. That could be a tough sell.
Update:
There has been debate and confusion about the LAFD budget and its potential impact on the most recent fires. L.A. Fire Chief Kristin Crowley answered questions about the controversy here.