Karen Bass Expresses Regret Over African Trip During Fire Crisis

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is now facing backlash after her ill-timed trip to Ghana, leaving her city vulnerable to raging wildfires fueled by the infamous Santa Ana winds. When questioned about her decision, Bass attempted to dodge the issue before bluntly throwing up her hands and admitting, “no,” before walking away from reporters.

Bass was more than 7,000 miles away when the fires erupted, attending the inauguration of Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama alongside three others. While she enjoyed the trip, firefighters back home battled flames with limited resources thanks to her own budget cuts.

• Bass slashed nearly $18 million from the Los Angeles Fire Department’s budget, reducing its ability to prepare for and respond to large-scale emergencies.

• A memo from L.A. Fire Chief Kristin Crowley warned that these cuts “severely limited” the department’s ability to fight wildfires, train personnel, and maintain firefighting aircraft.

• Crowley detailed how the budget reductions directly impacted essential wildfire response teams, including aerial firefighting operations and Heavy Equipment Operators who cut fire control lines.

The mayor’s decision to leave the country while wildfires threatened homes and lives wasn’t just reckless it was an insult to the firefighters left scrambling with fewer resources. Instead of addressing the growing dangers of wildfires in California, she prioritized a foreign political event over the safety of her own city.

This is the reality of Democratic leadership: cut essential services, leave citizens to suffer the consequences, and then dodge accountability when things go wrong. Meanwhile, firefighters and residents are left wondering how much worse things will get the next time disaster strikes under Bass’s leadership.

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