The Palisades Fire Scandal Is Still Smoldering

It was a little odd when Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass abruptly fired L.A. Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley on February 21. The mayor had praised Crowley’s conduct during the wildly destructive Palisades Fire that began on January 7 of this year and eventually consumed over 23,000 acres, taking more than 6,800 structures and twelve lives with it. Bass had even approved a merit-based pay hike for her city’s fire chief just weeks before Crowley got the boot.

Bass’s office claims Crowley declined to call 1,000 firefighters to duty when the fire broke out and refused to conduct an after-action report on the disaster. Crowley fired back, insisting that her dismissal was retaliatory. After all, it coincided with her public admission that the LAFD was “underfunded, understaffed, and ill-equipped to handle the rising demands of a growing city.” Crowley’s attorneys insisted that the mayor’s allegations amounted to a smear campaign, and Bass was attempting to distract the public from her own lethargy.

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.

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It was a little odd when Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass abruptly fired L.A. Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley on February 21. The mayor had praised Crowley’s conduct during the wildly destructive Palisades Fire that began on January 7 of this year and eventually consumed over 23,000 acres, taking more than 6,800 structures and twelve lives with it. Bass had even approved a merit-based pay hike for her city’s fire chief just weeks before Crowley got the boot.

Bass’s office claims Crowley declined to call 1,000 firefighters to duty when the fire broke out and refused to conduct an after-action report on the disaster. Crowley fired back, insisting that her dismissal was retaliatory. After all, it coincided with her public admission that the LAFD was “underfunded, understaffed, and ill-equipped to handle the rising demands of a growing city.” Crowley’s attorneys insisted that the mayor’s allegations amounted to a smear campaign, and Bass was attempting to distract the public from her own lethargy.

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.