LA fire chief lashes out at City Hall over fire preparedness; Newsom demands probe of water issues

Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley lashed out at city leaders this week, saying that budget cuts to her department hampered firefighters’ ability to respond to the deadly wildfires that have ravaged Southern California. Meanwhile, Gov. Gavin Newsom called for an investigation on Friday into reports of the unavailability of water supply from the Santa Ynez Reservoir.

Asked by a Fox 11 News reporter if the city “failed” her and her department, Crowley first said, “It’s my job to stand up as a chief and exactly say, justifiably, what the fire department needs to operate to meet the demands of the community.”

She was asked twice more whether the city failed her.

After the third time, she responded with one word: “Yes.”

In another interview Friday, Crowley said a $17 million budget cut to her department has had a negative impact.

“Let me be clear. The $17 million budget cut and elimination of our civilian positions like our mechanics did and has and will continue to severely impact our ability to repair our apparatus,” Crowley said on CNN, adding that more than 100 fire apparatuses are out of service.

“Having these apparatus and the proper amount of mechanics would have helped,” she said.

Over the past few days, there have been questions and confusion about whether city officials cut the fire department’s budget and what, if any, impacts the cuts may have had on firefighters’ ability to respond to this week’s windstorms.

On Thursday, a spokesperson for L.A. City Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, who was budget chair last year, noted that the fire department’s overall budget increased this fiscal year.

But some news outlets and critics of L.A. Mayor Karen Bass suggested this week that there were cuts to areas of the fire department’s budget.

On Friday, Crowley told a Fox 11 reporter that there were cuts to her department. “Yes, it was cut and it did impact our ability to provide service,” she said.

She also said the fire department was not made aware that the Santa Ynez water reservoir was empty.

There had been reports earlier this week that there weren’t enough water for firefighters to fight the fires.

The mayor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Crowley’s remarks.

In a letter addressed to the heads of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and L.A. County Public Works, Newsom ordered officials to prepare a comprehensive review examining their preparation and response procedures to ensure available water supply for emergencies. He also demanded documents detailing any causes of the loss of water pressure and unavailability of water supplies.

“The ongoing reports of the loss of water pressure to some local fire hydrants during the fires and the reported unavailability of water supplies from the Santa Ynez Reservoir are deeply troubling to me and to the community,” Newsom wrote.

“While water supplies from local fire hydrants are not designed to extinguish wildfires over large areas, losing supplies from fire hydrants likely impaired the effort to protect some homes and evacuation corridors,” he wrote.

“We need answers to how that happened,” Newsom wrote, “… I am requesting you to fully and transparently share information and records for the state’s after-incident review.”

On Friday, Newsom invited Trump — who blamed the initial lack of water on the governor’s water policies — to visit California.

“The hundreds of thousands of Americans — displaced from their homes and fearful for the future — deserve to see us all working together in their best interests, not politicizing a human tragedy and spreading disinformation from the sidelines,” Newsom said.

The Palisades Fire broke out Tuesday, and has grown to over 21,000 acres, leveling much of the Pacific Palisades. At least five people have died in the fire.

Gus Corona, business manager for IBEW Local 18, the union representing DWP employees, supported Newsom’s call for accountability. He encouraged city leaders to evaluate the work of the DWP’s general manager and the entire water group leadership.

“It’s completely unacceptable that this reservoir was empty for almost a year for a minor repair,” Corona said. “This work should have been done by DWP crews.”

On Wednesday, Bass said she was frustrated that the Los Angeles Fire Department had limited resources to combat the Palisades Fire. Bass, among other city officials, explained the dire situation firefighters were in with dangerous Santa Ana winds preventing air support and extreme demand on the water system.

Bass explained that fire hydrants were not constructed to deal with the massive devastation happening in the Palisades.

“The No. 1 problem, especially on Wednesday, was the fact that we did not have air support because of the winds,” Bass said.

She noted that with winds subsiding, firefighters began water drops.

“As winds change, our resources change, we redistribute and we move,” Bass said. “That’s the dynamic situation that we are in — even in day three.”

L.A. Department of Water and Power CEO Janisse Quiñones previously said there were three water tanks available for firefighters in the Palisades Fire, but high demand drained resources.

Firefighters also dealt with low water pressure at higher elevations — an issue Quiñones said the department is working to solve. DWP officials cited old infrastructure and, again, extreme demand for water.

Quiñones noted that about 200 of the approximately 1,000 fire hydrants in Pacific Palisades were without water.

The lack of water in some hydrants drew criticism in some political quarters, including from President-elect Donald Trump, who slammed Newsom for decisions on water diversion during Trump’s first term.

City News Service contributed to this report