Karen Bass Regrets Taking African Trip Amid Fire Dangers

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass signaled this week that she regrets taking her trip to Ghana despite her city being at risk of wildfires at the time due to the powerful Santa Ana winds and dry conditions.

Bass was asked by a reporter at the end of a press conference on Tuesday about the trip.

“Looking back, would you have taken that trip overseas?” the reporter asked.

Bass responded, “You know, I am gonna focus today on what we–”

When the reporter started to push back, Bass responded bluntly by throwing her hands up, declaring “no,” and walking away.

Bass was more than 7,000 miles away from the fires when they erupted last week.

She was visiting Ghana with three others for the inauguration of President John Dramani Mahama, who was elected last year.

Bass has also faced intense scrutiny over cutting millions of dollars from the city’s fire department budget.

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In a memo dated December 4, 2024, L.A. Fire Chief Kristin Crowley wrote that the nearly $18 million in cuts “severely limited the department’s capacity to prepare for, train for, and respond to large-scale emergencies, including wildfires.”

“Without this funding, pilot compliance and readiness are jeopardized, and aerial firefighting capabilities are diminished,” Crowley wrote in the memo that was presented last month to the Board of Fire Commissioners, a panel of mayoral appointees who oversee the management of the department.

Crowley said that the overtime hours funded “Heavy Equipment Operators (HEOs) who make fire control lines around wildland fires, manage firefighting robotics, wildland fire road maintenance, post-fire demolition services, and other allhazard emergency services.”

“Ultimately, loss of funding impairs the Department’s ability to mitigate wildland fires and other hazards effectively,” she wrote.

Related: Karen Bass Ignores Questions About Her Handling Of Devastating Fires