LA mayor ordered fire department to downplay failures in fighting historic wildfires, report says

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass allegedly told officials to water down the findings of an after-action report into the deadly 2025 Palisades fire, despite denying she had meddled in the probe, according to an explosive Los Angeles Times investigation.

Bass allegedly received an early draft of the report and told the city’s then-interim fire chief its findings could expose Los Angeles to legal liability regarding failures to stop the blaze, which killed 12 people.

The mayor requested that key findings about the fire department’s performance during the fire be removed or toned down before the report was released, the Times reported, citing two sources with knowledge of Bass’s office, who said they had heard about the alleged requests from two people close to Bass.

“The mayor didn’t tell the truth when she said she had nothing to do with changing the report,” one of the unnamed sources said.

Changes were made to key findings in the after-action report before it was released to the public last October, the Times previously reported.

open image in gallery

Bass’s office sharply disputed the report, saying in a statement that the mayor had been “unequivocal for months” that she hadn’t changed the findings of the report.

“She reviewed an early draft of the report and only asked the LAFD to make sure it was accurate on issues like weather and budget,” the statement reads. “She and her staff made no changes to the drafts.”

The changes to the report were revealed in a December investigation from the Times, which reported officials changed their initial criticism of LAFD’s failure to pre-deploy engines ahead of the Palisades fire into a positive assessment in the public version.

“The Mayor has been clear about her concerns regarding pre-deployment and the LAFD’s response to the fire, which is why there is new leadership at LAFD,” the mayor’s office said in its statement.

The mayor’s office told the Times that the mayor had asked that investigators fact-check findings regarding the effect of city finances and high wind forecasts on how the LAFD handled the fire.

open image in gallery

The newly appointed head of the LAFD has acknowledged that the after-action report was altered.

“It is now clear that multiple drafts were edited to soften language and reduce explicit criticism of the department leadership in that final report,” Fire Chief Jaime Moore said in January. “This editing occurred prior to my appointment as Fire Chief. And I can assure you that nothing of this sort will happen ever again while I am Fire Chief.”

The author of the after-action report, Battalion Chief Kenneth Cook, declined to endorse the final version’s findings, the Times reported.

“Having reviewed the revised version submitted by your office, I must respectfully decline to endorse it in its current form,” he emailed top fire officials in October. “The document has undergone substantial modifications and contains significant deletions of information that, in some instances, alter the conclusions originally presented.”

Kristin Crowley, who was head of the LAFD at the time of the Palisades fire, was terminated from her position last February.