As crews continue to put out multiple fires across Los Angeles County, residents have expressed worry about the city’s insufficient response. Criticism includes not being warned about the likelihood of the fires even happening as well as a shortage of both firefighters and water.
Much of that critique has been leveled toward L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, who is responding with a few thoughts of her own. During a news conference on Wednesday (Jan. 8), she attempted to pacify detractors and their valid concerns.
“This is going to be an effort of all of us coming together, and we have to resist any effort to pull us apart,” she said, adding that she was on the phone working with officials “every hour” of her flights on both military and commercial aircraft.
“So although I was not physically here, I was in contact with many of the individuals that are standing here throughout the entire time,” Bass said.
Bass came under fire for not being present during this shocking tragedy. Instead, she traveled to Ghana for the inauguration of that country’s latest president and did not come back to Los Angeles until Wednesday (Jan. 8).
“When my flight landed, I immediately went to the fire zone and saw what happened in Pacific Palisades...I took the fastest route back, which included being on a military plane, which facilitated our communications,” Bass said. “So I was able to be on the phone the entire time of the flight.”
Bass acknowledged how frustrating the lack of resources have been. The mayor also responded to the claim she cut the fire department’s budget in order to pay for an expensive new contract with the LAPD.
Patrick Soon-Shiong, the owner of the Los Angeles Times, repeated this assertion, posting on X that “the Mayor cut LA Fire Department’s budget by $23M.” He also repeated the claim on Fox News.
That claim is untrue, however, as the city was merely negotiating a new contract with the fire department at the time the budget was being crafted. This led to extra funding for the department being set aside in a separate fund until the deal becomes finalized in November.
“Our families, our friends have been affected and it’s easy to get caught up in information that is not accurate,” Bass said in reference to the misinformation. “I think most of us know that the internet is not always the best place to get accurate information.”
Bass made history by becoming the first woman and second-ever Black person to serve as mayor of L.A.