LA fire chief warned budget cuts would impact responses to major emergencies weeks before fires

Los Angeles City Fire Chief Kristin Crowley warned city officials weeks ago that a nearly $18 million reduction in the fire department's budget would impact its ability to prepare and respond to major disasters and emergencies, NBC News reported Wednesday.

Crowley's warning was sent out in a memo on Dec. 4, more than a month before a string of large fires threatened Los Angeles County, after what is normally the off-season for wildfires. Fire season in Southern California typically runs from the summer through October.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass approved the changes to the budget last June.

The fire chief claimed that the budget reduction left many administrative jobs unfilled. It also pulled funding from the overtime budget which had been used for training and fire prevention, including the Federal Aviation Administration's mandated pilot training and helicopter coordination staffing for wildfire suppression.

“The reduction ... has severely limited the department’s capacity to prepare for, train for, and respond to large-scale emergencies, including wildfires,” Crowley wrote in the memo. “Without this funding, pilot compliance and readiness are jeopardized, and aerial firefighting capabilities are diminished.

"Changes to the Air Operations Section impact the Department’s ability to adhere to current automatic and mutual aid agreements, provide air ambulance service, and quickly respond to woodland fires with water dropping helicopters," the memo added.

The memo also noted that other programs, including the Disaster Response Section, and the Critical Incident Planning and Training Section, which develops plans for major emergencies, would suffer from the budget cuts.

The city of Los Angeles is most threatened by the largest of the six fires, the Palisades Fire, which has burned through over 15,800 acres at the time of publishing, according to CNN. The second largest is currently burning in the Altadena area, and has reached more than 10,600 acres. The sixth started Wednesday evening in the Hollywood Hills.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.