Mayor Karen Bass failed to deploy LA's $1M crisis team to fire-ravaged areas for a week in latest fumbled decision to emerge
The woke mayor of Los Angeles failed to deploy the city's crisis team to areas ravaged by the apocalyptic wildfires for a week, it has emerged.
The Palisades Fire - the first of several blazes to erupt in LA - broke out on Tuesday last week, but Mayor Karen Bass did not call on her crisis response team until seven days later, The New York Post reports.
Edward Alamo, interim director of the Crisis Response Team (CRT), reportedly sent an email to volunteers a few days after the deadly fires first broke out to inform them that 'at this time, we are not deploying to shelters or community resource centers'.
Volunteers were 'stunned' that the CRT, which they allege is 'more well funded' than any other crisis team in the country, spent days just 'sitting on its hands, not responding at all' while entire neighborhoods were being leveled by the fires.
Bass, according to a former LAFD Battalion Chief, could have actioned the team immediately because she 'doesn't have to wait for a request' and has 'all the authority to deploy them at their discretion'.
It is unclear why Bass waited to deploy the volunteer organization that her public safety department oversees.
The CRT reports directly to Deputy Mayor Brian Williams, who has been placed on administrative leave since mid-December when the FBI raised his over a bomb threat he allegedly made against City Hall last autumn.
Williams has not yet been arrested or charged with a crime, but still remains on leave. His attorney told KCAL that he 'strongly maintains his innocence and intends to vigorously fight the allegations'.
The CRT also lacks a permanent director and has had a job opening available for the role since last year.
The Palisades Fire - the first of several blazes to erupt in LA - broke out on Tuesday last week, but Mayor Karen Bass (pictured Wednesday) did not call on her crisis response team until seven days later, according to reports
A view of burnt Malibu beachside house after Palisade Fire has caused destruction in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles on January 15, 2025
Joseph Avalos, who served as CRT director for 13 years, says he cannot understand why the team was not deployed to help fire victims.
Avalos, whom Bass fired in May last year, alleged that multiple volunteers received call outs to help with small incidents, such as traffic crashes, but were not actioned amid the fires.
'I got some phone calls from current CRT members that they're still on standby and not involved yet,' he told the Post. 'Quite honestly, I don't understand why.'
Christopher Anyakwo - one of Williams' staffers - has denied claims that the organization is being sidelined and told the newspaper 'the CRT is currently helping at the disaster recovery center'.
A spokesperson for Bass told the newspaper that the CRT is working 'right now' but did not specify when the team was officially deployed.
'We are grateful that they answered our call to serve,' the spokesperson added.
The CRT was created in 1992 to provide assistance to victims of fires, crimes and other incidents.
Its volunteers are trained to offer 'immediate, on-scene, practical and emotional support to survivors,' the organization's website states.
The CRT reports directly to Deputy Mayor Brian Williams, (pictured) who has been placed on administrative leave since mid-December when the FBI raised his over a bomb threat he allegedly made against City Hall last autumn
Bass has been heavily criticized over her response to the catastrophic wildfires that have killed at least 25 people and destroyed more than 12,000 homes and other structures.
Meanwhile, Williams - who oversees the city's fire department - was placed on administrative leave less than three weeks before the fires erupted.
FBI agents searched Williams' home on December 17 after an investigation allegedly determined he made the September bomb threat against City Hall.
The Los Angeles Police Department investigated the threat after it was first reported and determined that Williams was 'likely' the source of the threat.
But due to his working relationship with the LAPD, the investigation was handed over to the FBI, who then carried out a search of his home.
Bass, shortly after the raid, issued a statement saying her 'number one job is to keep Angelenos safe' and promising to 'hold people who commit crimes accountable'.
Her statement has now come under scrutiny, as it is nearly identical a remark she made over the weekend regarding the city's response to the apocalyptic fires.
Williams was hand-picked for the role as deputy by woke Mayor Karen Bass in February 2023 and given significant public safety responsibility, including oversight of the city's fire and police departments. The pair are pictured together with Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka (right) aboard the Battleship USS Iowa to officially announce the start of LA Fleet Week in 2023
Williams, who oversees the city's fire department, was placed on administrative leave less than three weeks before the deadly wildfires erupted in the LA. Pictures is a Malibu beach front home that was destroyed by the Palisades Fire
Bass, whose spokesperson claimed said that she took the 'matter very seriously', quickly issued a statement after the raid, saying: 'My number one job is to keep Angelenos safe.
'The only way to do that is to hold people who commit crimes accountable and to take real steps to prevent crime from happening in the first place.'
But critics are now questioning her sincerity after she made an almost verbatim remark over the weekend during a press briefing about the deadly fires.
A CBS News reporter, noting how the strong hurricane-force winds were set to further fuel the fires this week, asked Bass: 'Why are you not implementing broader closures right now to keep your constituents safe?'
'We are doing everything to keep Angelenos safe,' she replied, adding that the city would issue further closures if there was a 'need' to do so.
Bass named Williams deputy mayor of public safety in February 2023.
Williams' duties included oversight of the Los Angeles Police Department, the Los Angeles Fire Department and the various police department that patrol Los Angeles International Airport and the Port of Los Angeles.
During his time as deputy mayor, Williams also worked on issues including police hiring, public safety spending and the search for a new police chief, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Williams had earlier served for seven years as the executive director of the Los Angeles County's Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission, and was previously a deputy mayor under former Mayor James Hahn.
In that position, he oversaw management of public works and the Los Angeles Department of Transportation.
The Pacific Palisades Bowl Mobile Estates destroyed by the Palisades Fire is seen in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025
A home destroyed by the Palisades Fire is seen in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025
Smokes and flames overwhelms a commercial area during the Eaton fire in the Altadena area of Los Angeles County, California on January 8, 2025
Red Flag warnings advising of extreme wildfire danger expired across the Los Angeles area late on Wednesday, but forecasters warned that dry and windy conditions will persist on Thursday, and that the threat of blazes remained.
The National Weather Service added that the respite for fire-ravaged Los Angeles will be short, with high chances for renewed Red Flag warnings - when ideal fire conditions of high winds and low humidity dominate - starting again on Sunday.
Some 6.5 million people remained under a critical fire threat, after the fires consumed an area nearly the size of Washington DC, resulting in at least 25 deaths so far, authorities said.
Firefighters on Wednesday confronted persistently strong and dry winds fueling two giant wildfires that have terrified Los Angeles for eight days, testing the resolve of a city upended by the worst disaster in its history.
Officials urged residents to remain vigilant and be prepared to evacuate at a moment's notice with peak wind gusts forecast to last through Thursday afternoon.
A motorcyclist stops to look at a burning home during the Eaton fire in the Altadena area of Los Angeles county, California on January 8, 2025
The Sun rises over homes destroyed by the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025
Forecasted winds of up to 70mph did not materialize on Wednesday. Still, firefighters reported winds of 30 to 40mph combined with low humidity in a region that has failed to receive any appreciable rain in nine months, meaning fire threats remain.
The fires have damaged or destroyed more than 12,000 homes and other structures, and forced as many as 200,000 people from their homes.
Some 82,400 people were under evacuation orders and another 90,400 faced evacuation warnings as of Wednesday, County Sheriff Robert Luna said.
Entire neighborhoods have been leveled, leaving smoldering ash and rubble. Many homes only have a chimney stack left standing.
Some 8,500 firefighters from the western United States, Canada and Mexico have kept the growth of the fires in check for three days.
The Palisades Fire on the west edge of the city held steady at 23,713 acres burned, and containment nudged up to 19 per cent - a measurement of how much of the perimeter was under control. The Eaton Fire in the foothills east of the city stood at 14,117 acres with containment at 45 per cent.
SoCalGas workers dig a trench to secure natural gas infrastructure of homes destroyed by the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025
A new fire broke out on Wednesday in San Bernardino County east of Los Angeles, burning 30 acres, Cal Fire reported. Two other fires in Southern California were largely under control.
While the fires rage on, critics have questioned whether the city properly prepared for fire danger in the face of National Weather Service warnings about hazardous weather, even though firefighters were on alert and able to deploy assets beforehand.
Fire Chief Kristin Crowley fielded queries on Wednesday about a Los Angeles Times report that fire officials had opted against ordering 1,000 firefighters to remain on duty for a second shift last Tuesday as fires were beginning to grow out of control.
The Times cited critics who said the outgoing shift should have been kept on duty and that as many as 25 additional fire engines should have been moved into hillsides.
Crowley defended her department's preparation, saying it was impossible to know exactly where fires might break out and that some firefighters needed to remain in place to field ordinary emergency calls anywhere in the city.
'We did everything in our capability to surge where we could,' Crowley said.
The Times quoted Deputy Chief Richard Fields, who was in charge of staffing and equipment decisions ahead of the fire, as saying the scrutiny was welcome but that critics were too easily second-guessing decisions after the fact.
