Karen Bass’s Staff Knew Wildfires Could Destroy Los Angeles but Failed To Clue in the Mayor Before Her Jaunt to Ghana

Staffers with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’s office learned from the city’s Emergency Management Department officials that they had “high confidence” wildfires could ravage the city but had decided not to inform the city’s top official as she was leaving for her trip to Ghana.A new report from the Los Angeles Times uncovered that the Mayor had not been informed of the January 3 email in which EMD officials had advised a meeting the following Monday to prepare for the anticipated high winds and dry conditions. However, the mayor continued with her trip and attended the inauguration of the Ghanaian president and a cocktail party at the U.S. Embassy on January 7, the day the destructive Palisades fire broke out. More than a dozen aides for Ms. Bass’ office had received the email, which included multiple attachments and a message from an EMD official who also wrote that they would be sending a “tentative calendar invite” for the meeting.“That is not a warning of disaster. That sends the opposite message.”Deputy Mayor Zach Seidl, who received the email and oversees communications for Ms. Bass, told the Times that the emails did not suggest a catastrophe was imminent.An EMD spokesperson, Joseph Riser, told the newspaper that the “tentative” phrase referred to a date and time for Monday.On January 3 at 2:30 p.m., an EMD duty officer, Jillian de Vela, emailed the “EMD Adverse Weather” group. This group includes over 100 officials such as firefighters, police officers, employees from the Department of Water and Power and L.A. Unified School District, and the Mayor’s office. The 10-page attachment from the National Weather Service included a graphic with a red flame icon and the header “Critical fire conditions.” It warned of wind gusts up to 80 mph starting January 7, combined with low humidity and dry vegetation, creating a significant fire risk for Los Angeles and Ventura counties.Ms. De Vela also directly emailed two aides of Mayor Bass, including Jacquelyne Sandoval, the Mayor’s policy director for emergency management. She provided them with Zoom links to the Monday meeting, officially called an “adverse weather coordination call.”Mr. Seidl told the Times that no one from Ms. Bass’ staff told her about the information in the EMD’s email.“Before other major weather emergencies, the Mayor — or, at minimum, the Mayor’s Chief of Staff — has received a direct call from the Fire Chief, flagging the severity of the situation. This time, that call never came,” he said to the newspaper.Monica Rodriguez, a Los Angeles City Councilmember, told the Times that the emails indicate that Emergency Management Department officials were advising Mayor Bass’ team of the potential for hazardous fire weather conditions before her departure to Ghana.“She keeps saying, ‘I wouldn’t have left had I known.’ But her staff did know,” Ms. Rodriguez said.“This verifies that her staff was notified of the potential threat by EMD, whose responsibility it is to let us know of these potential weather events.”

Karen Bass’s Staff Knew Wildfires Could Destroy Los Angeles but Failed To Clue in the Mayor Before Her Jaunt to Ghana

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