Los Angeles City Fire Chief Kristin Crowley appeared on CNN Friday and said that city officials’ decisions hindered her department’s ability to combat the massive wildfires that have caused catastrophic damage.
During an appearance on “The Lead With Jake Tapper,” Crowley said recent budget cuts have severely undermined the department’s ability to fight the wildfires. The chief said that a $17 million reduction in funding has critically hampered the department’s operational capabilities.
“Yes, we took a $17 million budget cut, and, as we know, any budget cut would negatively impact our ability to carry out our mission. I want to also clarify that I’m not a politician. I’m a public servant. It’s my job as the fire chief for [the] Los Angeles City Fire Department to make sure that our firefighters have exactly what they need to do their jobs. And that’s why I’m talking to you today,” Crowley told Tapper.
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“The Palisades fire, everybody’s seen it. It is absolutely one of the most horrific natural disasters in the history of Los Angeles, and even with an additional hundred engines, I tell you we were not going to catch that fire.”
Crowley said the situation was exacerbated by the elimination of civilian positions.
“Let me be clear. The $17 million budget cut and elimination of our civilian positions, like our mechanics, did and has and will continue to severely impact our ability to repair our apparatus. So, with that, we have over 100 fire apparatus out of service, and having these apparatus and the proper amount of mechanics would have helped,” Crowley said.
Crowley said she has repeatedly alerted city officials about the dire state of the fire department.
“I have over the last three years been clear that the fire department needs help. We can no longer sustain where we are. We do not have enough firefighters. With that, I have also requested multiple budget, interim budgets, to show how understaffed, under-resourced and underfunded the LAFD is, so with that also we have clear data that shows the LAFD needs more help, ” Crowley said. “We need 62 more fire stations. These reports also show that we’ve had a 55% increase in overall call volume since 2010. And guess what? We’re doing it with less firefighters.”
The fire chief said that she had been directed to develop a budget reduction plan that could lead to a staggering $48.8 million cut.
“I was also directed to develop a plan as part of a budget reduction exercise, and that could equate to $48.8 million. And I warned, I rang the bell, that these additional cuts could be very, very devastating for our ability to provide public safety. That would have resulted in 15 fire stations closing down and potentially the elimination of over 300 fire stations,” Crowley said.
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Massive wildfires have devastated entire communities in Los Angeles County, leaving hundreds of homeowners with nothing but the bare essentials. The Daily Caller News Foundation spoke to several victims who shared how the fires have irrevocably altered their lives.
“[At] about 6 p.m., there was no fear yet that fire would come all the way up to Altadena. We packed a little bit, but not thinking that we were not coming back to our home. So we just packed some necessities just to stay at a hotel or over here for the night,” Castey Fortich told DCNF. “But then we delayed the evacuation until about 11 p.m., when the lights finally went out. We just left.”
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First published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.