LA Mayor Removes Fire Chief Over Response to Palisades Blaze
Kristin Crowley in 2022.
Photographer: Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass removed Fire Chief Kristin Crowley, escalating a public dispute over the city’s handling of the deadly Palisades fire last month.
Crowley’s dismissal as chief stemmed from alleged lapses including sending home 1,000 firefighters on the morning the blaze broke out and refusing to conduct an “after action report,” Bass said in a statement Friday. Bass appointed Ronnie Villanueva, a 41-year fire department veteran, as interim chief while the city launches a search for Crowley’s permanent replacement.