A month before the outbreak of multiple, devastating fires throughout greater Los Angeles, Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley warned that recent budget cuts approved by Mayor Karen Bass “severely limited” LAFD’s ability to respond to “large scale emergencies.”
“The reduction … has severely limited the department’s capacity to prepare for, train for, and respond to large-scale emergencies, including wildfires,” Crowley said in a memo dated Dec. 4, 2024, and published Wednesday by KNBC in Los Angeles.
The 2024 Los Angeles city budget included approximately $17 million cut from LAFD. According to the city, these cuts were in part to account for multiple positions that would not be filled; they also redirected certain