Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass fired the city's first lesbian fire chief Friday, just over a month after multiple wildfires tore through Southern California.
Bass announced she "met with and removed Kristin Crowley" as the city's fire chief and appointed former Chief Deputy Ronnie Villanueva, a 41-year Los Angeles Fire Department veteran, as interim fire chief.
In a statement Friday, Bass cited two main reasons for Crowley's removal.
"We know that 1,000 firefighters that could have been on duty on the morning the fires broke out were instead sent home on Chief Crowley's watch," said Bass. "Furthermore, a necessary step to an investigation was the President of the Fire Commission telling Chief Crowley to do an after action report on the fires. The Chief refused. These require her removal."
The mayor — who was on a diplomatic trip to Africa when the fires broke out — said her staff would conduct a "national search" for the city's next fire chief as well as "speak directly with firefighters and Angelenos about what they want to see in their next permanent chief."
The heroism of our firefighters — during the Palisades fire and every single day — is without question," Bass added. "Bringing new leadership to the fire department is what our city needs."
Officials say 29 people were killed across the region after fast-moving wildfires fueled by drought conditions and powerful winds broke out on Jan. 7, leaving over 18,000 structures destroyed or damaged and forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents.
Crowley was tapped for the role in March 2022 and was the city's first female and LGBT-identified fire chief. According to the LAFD, Crowley's priorities included "creating, supporting, and promoting a culture that values diversity, inclusion, and equity while striving to meet and exceed the expectations of the communities."
Before being named chief, Crowley served as a battalion commander for nine years, overseeing several divisions, and was the grand marshal of the 2024 LA pride parade.
In Dec. 2024, Crowley warned Bass that budget cuts "severely limited the department's capacity to prepare for, train for, and respond to large-scale emergencies, including wildfires" — a warning with which Bass said she disagreed.
According to city budget figures, the fire department's budget was reduced despite growing concerns over wildfire risks and emergency response capabilities. In contrast, the city's police department saw a $126 million increase in funding, as highlighted in a graphic shared by LA City Controller Kenneth Mejia.
Bass had initially proposed an even steeper cut to the fire department's budget, suggesting a $23 million reduction before ultimately settling on the $17.6 million figure.
Initially, when the fires broke out, Bass was in Ghana as part of a four-member presidential delegation that attended the inauguration of John Dramani Mahama as Ghana's president. She returned to the city on Jan. 8 on a military plane and pledged to conduct a "full accounting of what worked and especially what did not."
