Former LAFD chief Christine Crowley filed a tort claim on August 20, saying Mayor Karen Bass slandered a veteran firefighter to clear his name. Crawley wants to restore her reputation.
La Wildfire victims return to their ashes burned neighbours
Evacuees from LA wildfires are back to find their neighbours completely destroyed.
LOS ANGELES – The former Los Angeles Fire Chief, dismissed after the January flame, said the picturesque area of Cinders filed a claim against Mayor Karen Bass on August 20, with the bus turning longtime firefighters into scapegoats for the disaster.
The allegations from former LA Fire Department chief Christine Crowley against the bus and the city say the mayor escaped liability for the fire by using her position to slander Crowley.
At least 30 people died directly in the fire, while researchers estimate that 440 people died indirectly due to poor air quality and health care disruptions. A study from the University of California, Los Angeles states that fire and other losses will cost as much as $131 billion.
Crawley’s showdown with freshmen began when the fire was still furious. The 25-year LAFD veteran slammed the bus into the fire on CNN Day, cutting the department’s budget. The mayor said Crawley was unable to properly staff due to the fire and did not submit a report related to the flames.
Bass eventually fired Crawley on February 21st.
“Integrity, truthfulness, and serving others before themselves have led me throughout my career. As a fire chief, for almost three years, I advocate for proper funding, staffing, and infrastructure upgrades, and better support and protect firefighters and even the community.”
“Life, fraud, exaggeration, misrepresentation must be addressed with the only thing that can counter them – true facts,” added Crowley. “As firefighters, we want to run towards uncertainty and put it all at risk. Doing the right thing, even when it’s difficult, is always the right decision, and that’s why our firefighters continue to fight for the resources they need to keep us all safe.”
Crawley hopes that the legal claims will help restore her reputation. She hopes to get back what Bass and the mayor said about Crawley, according to the announcement. The claim estimates that the base was given to Crawley, who exceeded $25,000 worth of damages.
In response to a request for comment, Bass’ attorney David Michelson said, “We will not comment on ongoing personnel claims. Mayor Bass is focusing on the city’s preparation for the hottest temperatures of the year and potential fire hazards in the area.”
The legal clash between Crawley and the Bath comes with the city saying forecasters will be “the hottest days ever this summer.” California Gov. Gavin Newsom deployed his fire engine, helicopter and bulldozer scores prior to rising temperatures in the case of flames.
According to a Crowley spokesman, Bass’ Legal Team is expected to respond to Crowley’s tort claims within 45 days.
Why did the base burn Crowley?
Bus gave him two reasons to fire Crowley. The mayor said the fire chief had hindered an investigation into the fire by obstructing 1,000 firefighters who “could be on duty in the morning” by saying “a fire had started” that “a fire broke out,” according to a news release from the mayor’s office.
“Our firefighter heroism is unquestionable during the Palisade fires and daily life,” Bass said at the time. “Bringing new leadership to the fire department is what our city needs.”
The mayor replaced Crawley with interim fire chief Ronnie Villanueva, a 41-year LAFD veteran who retired for the time seven months.
Villanueva has won the center stage along with Bass and announced the city’s preparations for the upcoming heat, emphasizing that LAFD’s response will be faster and more effective than in January.
“Your Los Angeles Fire Department has coordinated closely with nearby agencies and partners to ensure a prompt and effective response in the event of a major incident,” Villanueva told reporters on August 19.
Villanueva emphasized that the fire station checked the city’s fire hydrants before the heat. Fire hydrants that dried within hours of the flames ignited in January proved to be a problem with spreading fires.
L.A. city council ultimately supported Crawley’s shooting.
What happened to Crawley?
Crowley sends 1,000 firefighters home, refuses to report after action, and claims that he failed to deploy the previous fire engine in advance, and that, according to the previous chief’s announcement, the mayor’s office of expected fires has all been false.
According to Crowley’s legal filing, Bass’ claims are “part of a deliberate strategy to scapegoat career firefighters and divert scrutiny from the mayor’s decision. The mayor “adjusted a campaign of misinformation, honorific atf losses and retaliation to protect her political image while hiding the extent to which it undermines public safety.”
According to Crowley, the LAFD was in pain for years until it hit a wildfire in January.
“It’s been clear over the past three years that the fire department needs help,” Crawley told CNN’s Jake Tupper. “We can no longer maintain where we are. We don’t have enough firefighters.”
Crowley said Crowley denounced LAFD cuts, including cutting the department’s budget by $17 million and cutting staff.
Budget documents obtained by USA Today show that the Los Angeles Fire Department budget has been reduced from $837 million in 2024 to $819 million in 2025.
A report from the fire department sent to the mayor and city council in December said, “These budget cuts have had a negative impact on the department’s ability to maintain core operations.”
Bass said at the time, “there were no cuts that would affect the situation.”
“People in Los Angeles deserve to know the truth about how the LAFD is lacking and how it turned out,” former Chief Ginny Harrison said. “Kristin Crowley has once again put himself on the line this time, this time to give Los Angeles and its firefighters the power to create truth and change.”
Calling the former chief to appeal for fire, Councillor Monica Rodriguez, one of the two councillors, repeated the call for an after-revolutionary action report in a statement provided to USA Today in order to vote to vote for her reinstatement.
“Angelenos and our firefighters deserve leadership decisions that are rooted in integrity and transparency, not politics,” Rodriguez said.
This story has been updated with new information.
