Karen Bass Blasts Everyone But Herself for Wildfire Mishandling

Mayor Karen Bass foisted blame for the city’s mishandling of January’s deadly Los Angeles wildfires and their aftermath on everyone but herself.

Bass called out the LA Department of Water and Power, the Los Angeles Fire Department and its chief, and the insurance industry while talking on a panel, “Rising Strong: Los Angeles’ Path to Recovery,” at the Milken Institute’s 28th annual Global Conference Wednesday.

The mayor, who came under fire for taking a trip to Africa during the historic windstorm that preceded the wildfires and the delay in issuing rebuilding permits, called out DWP, the nation’s largest municipal utility, for the empty 117-million-gallon Santa Ynez reservoir that may have contributed to the failure of its water system during the Palisades fire.

She criticized the fire department for the 1,000-plus broken fire hydrants and poor communication between the agency and the DWP about fixing them.

When moderator Elex Michaelson, an anchor on FOX 11 Los Angeles, asked Bass if anyone else should be held accountable for the handling of the wildfires, Bass mentioned Kristin Crowley, who Bass removed as fire chief in February. That decision was over the “fact that 1,000 firefighters were sent home that could have been on duty, the fact that fire engines were idle that could have been in use, and several other weaknesses that happened there,” Bass said.

In the coming months, more people could lose their jobs, Bass said.

The insurance industry is the biggest obstacle right now, Bass said, because it dictates whether people will be “properly compensated,” and “able to rebuild.”

Bass touted the pace of the rebuilding process.

“The rebuilding has been going very fast,” Bass said. “The second phase is the debris clearing and the removal of the hazardous waste. And that has been going at lightning speed.”

She boasted that the city issued its first permits to rebuild “within two months” with “about 200 people in the pipeline now.” The city plans to move things along by waiving permitting fees, an issue she addressed during her State of the City address in April.

But the city has only greenlit 37 rebuilding permits out of thousands of destroyed homes.

Bass was defensive when the moderator scoffed at the number.

“If you compare it to other fires that have taken place, they were nowhere near permits at this point in time,” the mayor said.

In addition to the 37 properties that are ready for rebuilding, there are 1,300 properties that have been cleared, she noted.

Bass was joined on stage at the Beverly Hilton by county Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, whose district includes the Pacific Palisades; Cinny Kennard, the executive director of the Annenberg Foundation that organized the FireAid concerts; and Evan Spiegel, CEO and co-founder of photo-sharing app Snap, who helped launch community-centered fire recovery program Department of Angels.