Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass removed Kristin Crowley as the city’s fire chief on Friday, effective immediately. The mayor appointed former Chief Deputy Ronnie Villanueva to serve as interim chief.
Bass’ administration has maintained that cuts to areas of the fire department’s budget did not impact firefighters’ ability to respond to the fires, despite comments from Crowley that suggest otherwise. The fire chief recently lashed out against city officials, saying the city “failed” her and her department. Crowley also cast blame on the city for water running out when many of the hydrants tapped to fight the deadly Palisades fire went dry.
“I’m not a politician, I’m a public servant. It’s my job as the fire chief for Los Angeles city fire department to make sure our firefighters have exactly what they need to do their jobs,” Crowley told CNN at the time.
On Friday, Bass said 1,000 firefighters could have been on duty the morning the fires broke out but “were instead sent home on Chief Crowley’s watch.” The Palisades Fire gutted 23,448 acres, leveled nearly 7,000 structures and damaged 1,017 more. At least 12 people were killed.
“Furthermore, a necessary step to an investigation was the president of the Fire Commission telling Chief Crowley to do an after action report on the fires,” Bass added. “The chief (Crowley) refused. These require her removal.”
Bass also said Crowley refused to launch an after-action report on the deadly wildfires.
The mayor scheduled a press conference to discuss her decision for mid-day.
The mayor and her office have been inundated with questions since the first fire broke out — everything from whether Bass regretted her trip to Ghana and if she should apologize to Angelenos for being away to whether the city cut the fire department’s budget and left it ill-equipped to battle the flames to whether city officials failed to ensure that L.A. had enough water to respond to massive fires.
In media interviews last week, Bass acknowledged she made a mistake by leaving the city. But she inferred that she wasn’t aware of the looming danger when she jetted around the globe to attend the inauguration of Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama. She faulted Crowley for failing to alert her about the potentially explosive fire conditions.
In her announcement, the mayor said she fired Crowley “in the best interests” of L.A.’s public safety and the operations of the L.A. Fire Department.
“The heroism of our firefighters — during the Palisades Fire and every single day — is without question,” Bass said. “Bringing new leadership to the fire department is what our city needs.”
Villanueva is expected to lead the LAFD while the mayor’s office leads a national search and engages with residents to what they’d like in their next fire chief.
The interim chief retired seven months ago, but he is ready to hit the ground running, according to Bass’ office.
Villanueva retired from the fire department as chief deputy of emergency operations, and has decades of experience in fire suppression, emergency management, and the management of thousands of operational and support members of the LAFD in various positions at the department.
Before becoming a chief officer, Villanueva spent 24 years in the field at active assignments.
Developer Rick Caruso, whom Bass defeated in the 2022 race for mayor, responded swiftly to the move.
“It is very disappointing that Mayor Bass has decided to fire Chief Kristin Crowley,” Caruso said in a statement. “Chief Crowley served Los Angeles well and spoke honestly about the severe and profoundly ill-conceived budget cuts the Bass administration made to the LAFD. That courage to speak the truth was brave, and I admire her. Honesty in a high city official should not be a firing offense. The mayor’s decision to ignore the warnings and leave the city was hers alone. This is a time for city leaders to take responsibility for their actions and their decisions. We need real leadership, not more blame passing.”
“Chief Crowley remains the most qualified member of the L.A. City Fire Department that earned her well deserved appointment as fire fhief,” said L.A. City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez. “I am outraged by the scapegoating revealed by the Mayor’s actions. I plan to use my authority as a Councilmember to set the record straight and encourage Chief Crowley to appeal the Mayor’s baseless termination to the City Council. The public deserves a full account of every single leadership failure that has taken place.”
Crowley was elevated to Los Angeles fire chief in 2022 at a time of turmoil in a department consumed by complaints of rampant hazing, harassment and discrimination among its 3,400-member ranks. As a career firefighter, she was portrayed as a stabilizing force.
She worked for the city fire department for more than 25 years and held nearly every role, including fire marshal, engineer and battalion chief.
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City News Service and the Associated Press contributed to this report