The former Los Angeles fireplace chief has filed a lawsuit in opposition to the town, alleging that her ouster was a part of an orchestrated effort to smear her conduct and decision-making so Mayor Karen Bass might keep away from accountability for probably the most harmful wildfire in LA historical past.
Bass sacked Kristin Crowley a month after the January 2025 Palisades Hearth, and her dismissal was adopted by finger-pointing between the ex-chief and Metropolis Corridor over the blaze’s devastation and the hearth division’s funding. In March of that 12 months, Crowley misplaced an attraction to the Metropolis Council to win again her job.
Crowley’s lawsuit filed final week alleges that Bass unfold misinformation to guard the mayor’s political repute following the hearth.
The mayor’s workplace stated the lawsuit has no benefit.
“There is nothing new here. Ms. Crowley was removed from her post for her failure to predeploy and her decision to send 1,000 firefighters home instead of keeping them on duty on the morning the fires broke out,” Yusef Robb, a senior adviser to Bass, stated in an announcement Tuesday.
A message searching for remark was additionally despatched to the LA Metropolis Legal professional’s workplace.
Crowley accuses the first-term Democrat of attempting to distract from criticism over being in Africa for a presidential delegation when the blaze began, regardless that climate stories had warned of harmful wildfire circumstances within the days earlier than she left.
Bass made statements to shift blame, “including falsely claiming that she was not aware of the nationally anticipated weather event, falsely claiming that the LAFD’s budget was not cut, and falsely claiming that LAFD’s resources would have supported an additional 1,000 firefighters to fight the blaze,” the lawsuit alleges.
“These false statements were not mistakes but part of a deliberate strategy to divert scrutiny from Bass’ decisions and to avoid accountability,” the lawsuit states.
Within the submitting, the previous chief seeks unspecified financial and compensatory damages.
Bass fired Crowley on Feb. 21, 2025, six weeks after the LA fireplace began. She praised Crowley early on within the firefighting efforts, however she stated she later discovered that an extra 1,000 firefighters might have been deployed on the day the blaze ignited. Moreover, she stated Crowley rebuffed a request to organize a report on the fires that could be a essential a part of investigations into what occurred and why.
Crowley’s authorized submitting disputes each these claims.
The Palisades Hearth started Jan. 7 in heavy winds. It destroyed or broken practically 8,000 houses, companies and different buildings, and it killed no less than 12 folks within the Pacific Palisades, an prosperous LA neighborhood. One other fireplace began that day in Altadena, a suburb east of LA, killing no less than 17 folks and destroying or damaging greater than 10,000 houses or different buildings.
When she was ousted from the highest job, Crowley was demoted three ranks to assistant chief and at present serves in a “special duty” place with the hearth division’s Threat, Well being and Security Division, in keeping with court docket papers.
