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Karen Bass criticized for fire budget cuts in LA
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass got criticized for cutting city Fire Department's budget by $17.6 million before the area got torched by several massive wildfires.
LOS ANGELES - Three major fires fueled by devastating winds have burned more than 20,000 acres in Los Angeles County in just over a day. The winds have made the firefight difficult, particularly for units in the air. Dozens of structures have been destroyed and tens of thousands have been evacuated.
While multiple agencies are working together to put out the flames, these fires come just six months after LA Mayor Karen Bass and the LA City Council enacted a new budget which slashed the Los Angeles Fire Department's funding.
According to Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia, the city cut the LAFD's funding by $17.6 million in the 2025 fiscal year, which started on July 1, 2024. Compared to the city's other departments, the LAFD saw the second-largest cut, next to street services.
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'No one came to help': Palisades resident reflects on devastating fire
Long-time Pacific Palisades resident Archie Ogani reflected on the devastating fire that ravaged his hometown.
Looking at the budget summaries for the 2023-2024 fiscal year and the 2024-2025 fiscal year though, shows the year-over-year difference is closer to about $30 million.
Mayor Bass addressed those budget restrictions during a press conference Thursday, in response to a question by FOX 11 reporter Bob DeCastro.
"I think if you go back and look at the reductions that were made, there were no reductions that were made that would have impacted the situation that we were dealing with over the last couple of days. And then there was a little bit of confusion because money was allocated to be distributed later on, which was actually going to support salaries and other parts of the fire department that were distributed a little later," Bass said.
"So I think it's most important to understand that we were in tough budgetary times. Everybody knew that. But that impact of our budget really did not impact what we've been going through over the last few days.
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Mayor Bass addresses LAFD budget cuts
While multiple agencies are working together to put out the flames, these fires come just six months after LA Mayor Karen Bass and the LA City Council enacted a new budget which slashed the Los Angeles Fire Department's funding.
Several LAFD Firefighters have spoken to FOX 11 about their frustrations with the budget cuts, and what they've meant for their ability to fight the fires.
"Sadly, the winds have been known for over a week, but staffing and budget cuts doesn't allow to plan and prepare and pre-deploy as we should have," one LAFD firefighter told FOX 11's Gina Silva.
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Another told FOX 11 that the department has held some firefighters back because there weren't enough fire engines to put them on.
"The budget cut that started in July was significant, but the additional millions in ‘requested savings’ will be devastating," another firefighter told FOX 11.
After just over 24 hours, the Palisades Fire has become the most destructive wildfire in the city of LA's history.
The LA 2023-2024 fiscal year budget can be found here.
FOX 11 has reached out to Karen Bass' office for comment and has not yet heard back.