Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley issued a warning to the city’s mayor, Karen Bass, a Democrat, just a month ago that big time budget cuts were going to severely limit the department’s ability to respond to wildfires, leaving the city in a precarious position. Once again, we have a case of a Democratic Party politician not listening to the advice of wise individuals who could clearly see disaster on the horizon. She can now tell Bass, “I told you so.” Unfortunately, people are dying and losing their homes in the meantime.
According to The Daily Wire, there’s a memo dated Dec. 4, 2024, in which Crowley explains that the almost $18 million in cuts “severely limited the department’s capacity to prepare for, train for, and respond to large-scale emergencies, including wildfires.”
“Without this funding, pilot compliance and readiness are jeopardized, and aerial firefighting capabilities are diminished,” Crowley wrote in the memo that was presented last month to the Board of Fire Commissioners, a panel of mayoral appointees who oversee the management of the Department, according to a local NBC News affiliate.
The fire chief’s memo continued as she wrote that the overtime hours helped to fund “Heavy Equipment Operators (HEOs) who make fire control lines around wildland fires, manage firefighting robotics, wildland fire road maintenance, post-fire demolition services, and other allhazard emergency services.”
“Ultimately, loss of funding impairs the Department’s ability to mitigate wildland fires and other hazards effectively,” she added.
The loss of the funding “increases risks during large-scale emergencies and events,” Crowley said, specifically noting that it meant that there would be delays in clearing brush and other preventive measures to stop major wildfires from breaking out.
“The LAFD’s ability to respond to large-scale emergencies, such as wildfires, earthquakes, and hazardous materials incidents, is significantly diminished, increasing risks to both public and firefighter safety,” she told the mayor in the memo.
Not long after the wildfires started raging, Bass began to take heavy criticism, especially because she basically missing-in-action, having taken a trip to Ghana in Africa. Not exactly the best time to be enjoying a safari, right?
This shows an incredible lack of humility on Bass’s part. When someone in a position of authority like a fire chief comes to you and says they need some of the money that was cut in order to ensure the safety of the people and preservation of their property, you should probably listen.
Please pray for the people of Los Angeles as they try to ride out this disaster.
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