The fallout over LAFD funding: Bass vs. Crowley
Imperfect Paradise
LAist Studios
4.5 • 535 Ratings
🗓️ 16 April 2025
⏱️ 40 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Amid the devastating Palisades and Eaton Fires that killed more than two dozen people, a political conflict came sharply into focus surrounding the funding of the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD). Finger-pointing as to who was to blame included former LA Fire Chief Kristin Crowley and LA Mayor Karen Bass. The two women would be lambasted for their handling of one of the most destructive natural disasters in Southern California history. But instead of coming together to fend off attacks and manage the fire response, Bass and Crowley ended up engaging in a very public feud. We look back at each side's accusations, the funding of the LAFD, the political futility of blame, and what it might tell us about preventing future wildfires in Los Angeles.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Support for LAIST comes from CarPros Kia, featuring the 2027 Kia Telluride Hybrid with a striking new design and family-friendly seating for up to eight. |
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| 0:29.3 | Claim your rebates at elephant |
| 0:30.6 | energy.com. You're listening |
| 0:32.6 | to Imperfect Paradise. I'm |
| 0:34.6 | Antonia Selejida. |
| 0:43.8 | It was January 8th, the day after two giant firestorms had engulfed Los Angeles. More than a thousand structures had already burned down, and everyone |
| 0:49.9 | was looking for someone to blame. Megan Kelly, the conservative political commentator, |
| 0:56.6 | went on her serious XM show to blast |
| 0:58.7 | to Los Angeles government officials |
| 1:00.6 | for their response to the fires, |
| 1:02.8 | the first L.A. mayor Karen Bass |
| 1:05.0 | for being on a diplomatic trip |
| 1:07.0 | when the fires erupted. |
| 1:09.2 | The city's mayor, Karen Bass, is in Ghana right now. |
| 1:14.8 | She's on her way back now, but she's not even in the country. |
| 1:18.8 | And second, L.A. Fire Department Chief Kristen Crowley, the first woman, an openly gay |
... |
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