Leaked Memo Exposes Incompetent LA Mayor Karen Bass’ $49 Million Fire Department Budget Cut Demand Just One Week Before Wildfires Erupted — Plan Would Shut Down 16 Fire Stations
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass demanded an additional $49 million in budget cuts to the already cash-strapped Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) just days before wildfires ravaged the city.
This ill-timed decision, revealed in a leaked internal memo obtained by the Daily Mail, has sparked outrage among current and former fire officials who say the move left the department woefully unprepared for disaster.
The memo, dated January 6—merely a day before the Palisades Fire ravaged the region—proposed shutting down 16 fire stations across the city, slashing resources critical for combating wildfires and responding to emergencies.
In California, wildfire alerts are issued through a combination of state and local systems designed to provide timely warnings to residents. These alerts are typically disseminated as soon as a wildfire is detected or even one week prior when conditions indicate an imminent threat, allowing residents to evacuate promptly and safely.
So, there’s a chance that Bass was already aware of the wildfire warning, yet she still insisted on cutting the budget. To make matters worse, she chose to travel to Africa during this critical time.
According to the memo:
“The LAFD is still going through a FY 2024/2025 $48.8 million budget reduction exercise with the CAO. The Fire Chief, Board of Fire Commissioners, COA, and UFLAC are steadfast in their message of defending what resources we currently have in place.
The only way to provide a cost savings would be to close as many as 16 fire stations (not resources, fire stations); this equates to at least one fire station per City Council District. The details of this plan have not yet been developed. This is a worst-case scenario and is NOT happening yet. The Fire Chief will have a “Chat with the Chief webinar next week to clarify the situation and the budget.”
Sources within the LAFD revealed that Mayor Bass’s decision prioritized reallocating funds toward homelessness programs at the expense of public safety.
One 25-year veteran firefighter described the situation as “untenable,” citing chronic understaffing, outdated equipment, and a skyrocketing call volume.
“They did not want this out. It’s an internal memo not to be distributed,” a veteran firefighter told Daily Mail.
“They’re trying to allocate more money for the homeless, and they need to start taking from everybody. But we already exhausted our budget. It’s already tapped. That’s why they cut the fire academy in half, so they could save more money. That’s why we’re not testing if hydrants work any more. We’re doing everything we can to save money.
“We have fire engines we can’t get parts for. When one breaks down we strip it of parts to put on other fire engines because we can’t buy any more parts. If you shut down 16 stations, that’s about 750 personnel. Then they expect us to take the same call volume. And yesterday we did 3,800 calls, almost twice of what our daily call volume usually is.
“We’re already shy 200 paramedics, and we’re on the verge of another 200 quitting because we can’t do this any more. If we don’t work overtime, they suspend and threaten to terminate us. It’s untenable.,” he concluded.
Wow. Leaked memo reveals LA Mayor Karen Bass demanded the fire department cut $48.8 million from their budget just days before the fires broke out! pic.twitter.com/YzsG4T96y5
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 10, 2025
This demand came on top of $17.6 million in cuts already approved in Mayor Bass’s budget for FY 2024/2025 last December.
DEI Fire Chief Kristin Crowley had previously cautioned that the initial $17.6 million reduction would “severely limit the department’s capacity to prepare for, train for, and respond to large-scale emergencies, including wildfires,” the New York Post reported.
So, Mayor Karen Bass slashed over $17 million from the LA Fire Department budget while prioritizing $170,000 for “Social Justice Art” and $100,000 for “transgender cafés.”
LA Mayor Karen Bass cut over $17 million from the LA Fire Department budget but made sure to allocate $170,000 for “Social Justice Art” and $100,000 for “transgender cafés.” pic.twitter.com/JXcVZqe2Zo
— World Hall Of Fun (@WorldHallOfFun) January 10, 2025
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