A month before fires, L.A. fire chief warned budget cuts were hampering emergency response
Headline from CBS News, on the newest of 2 developments
The Los Angeles Fire Department's budget was cut by $17.6 million, about 2%, this fiscal year. The fire chief warned last month it would make it harder to respond to emergencies.
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Los Angeles Times owner Dr. Pat Soon-Shiong remarked how Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass cut the fire department’s budget prior to the ongoing Palisades fires.
The Los Angeles Fire Department had its budget cut by a staggering $17.6 million this financial year, records show -- as fire crews continue to battle out-of-control blazes currently ravaging the City of Angels.
"The reduction ... has severely limited the department's capacity to prepare for, train for, and respond to large-scale emergencies, including wildfires," Chief Kristin Crowley wrote in a memo on Dec. 4, 2024, NBC Los Angeles reported.
Just weeks before five wildfires engulfed the City of Angels, Los Angeles fire chief Kristin Crowley warned that Mayor Karen Bass’s budget cuts to her department "severely limited" its response to wide-scale emergencies—including wildfires.
The Los Angeles Fire Department's budget was cut by $17.6 million, about 2%, this fiscal year. The fire chief warned last month it would make it harder to respond to emergencies.
