Kristen Crowley is appealing her “demotion” to the L.A. City Council.
Former Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley was demoted to a lesser position with reduced pay on February 21, 2025 by L.A. Mayor Karen Bass. Crowley sent an email to the City Council today to appeal that decision.
Under the City Charter she can appeal the loss of her position and would need the support of 10 of the 15 members to be reinstated.
A special meeting is being held at 5 p.m. tomorrow, February 28, at the Van Nuys City Hall.
When Bass announced the firing, she gave several reasons, including that Crowley had not called her (in Ghana) to let her know the severity of the Santa Ana Wind Warning, and that Crowley had refused to prepare an after-action on the fire. Bass also questioned a failure to deploy 1,000 firefighters on the morning of the event.
Crowley accused Bass of cutting the fire budget, which left 75 firetrucks in a city repair facility that could have been used to fight the fire.
“We are outraged at the termination of Fire Chief Crowley,” UFLAC (United Firefighters of L.A.) President Freddie Escobar said last week. “In our opinion, Crowley is being made a scapegoat and she’s being terminated for telling the truth.”
This is what the editor learned today, while in the Palisades with photographer Rich Schmitt. A resident spoke to us and showed time-stamped photos of the Highlands at the start of the fire.
The 911 call for the start of the Palisades Fire came in as early as 10:25 a.m. The first and only firefighters on the scene at 11:10 a.m. were Stations 69 and 23. . . .and that was it.
On January 7, the resident watched as a firefighter hooked up a hose to a hydrant at 11:10 a.m. and said, “I have 50 percent pressure.”
Only two stations on the scene at the start of the fire, no water pressure and as one firefighter later told a resident, “We were f*cked from the beginning.”
One had to assume that Fire Chief Crowley knew about the severity of the wind prediction and the dry conditions in very high fire severity zones. Crowley would be to blame for lack of deployment, rapid action and insuring the firefighters had resources.
(Editor’s note: In addition to Crowley, there are several other people who should be fired for this disaster that killed 12 people and has financially ruined the lives of so many.)
The Palisades Fire, which started around 10:30 a.m., had traveled to the hills behind the high school by 12:30 p.m. By the evening the fire jumped Sunset Boulevard, went on the PaliHi baseball field and then through the high school to the ocean.
Why is Janisse Quiñones, the Chief Engineer and CEO of the DWP, still in her position? The Bass appointee that the City Attorney has muzzled after press conferences early on after the fire. Not to excuse LAFD and LAPD, but without water to fight fires, not much else matters.
She and the rest of the LAFD owe the Palisades citizenry an explantation, apology and restitution for fleeing the fires without telling anyone. It was appalling watching them party on the beach and doing selfies in front of fires rather than fighting them. Too bad those of us who lost our homes due to their incompetence, indifference and stupidity can’t access their pensions accounts and other assets paid for by our wasted tax dollars.