A December 4 memo viewed by , Fox News Digital , shows the Los Angeles Fire Department ( LAFD ) chief warned of dire budget cuts which would affect its ability to respond to large-scale emergencies, like wildfires, a month before the devastating fires currently ravaging California.
AFD Chief Kristin Crowley’s letter discusses what she described as the” trickling impacts” the cost-saving measures would have on the office. Especially, that the around$ 18 million budget reduce had plunged it into “unprecedented operating problems” which would hamper its ability to respond to large-scale emergencies , like fire.
According to Fox News, LA Mayor Karen Bass approved the budget steps, whose management has also come under scrutiny, and she has denied that the cuts have hindered the state’s response. The changes take effect on July 1, 2024.
According to Crowley, those budget cuts, known as “v-hours,” eliminated important civilian jobs and about$ 7 million from the LAFD’s extra resources.
” These budgetary reductions have adversely affected the agency’s ability to maintain core operations, such as technologies and communication equipment, payment processing, education, fire prevention and community education”, Crowley wrote.
” The decline in v-hours … has severely limited the agency’s ability to prepare for, educate for, and listen to large-scale crises, including wildfires, earthquakes, hazardous materials incidents and massive public events”, Crowley wrote in the letter.
According to a report from NBC , Los Angeles, the 21-page memo, titled” Los Angeles Fire Department Service Impacts on Operations”, then went into further detail about the budget-slashing effects. The Board of Fire Commissioners, a group of mayororal appointees who manage the department, received it last month.
At a press conference on Thursday, Bass was asked about the budget cuts and said they didn’t affect the city’s response. There were no adjustments made that would have had an impact on the circumstances we were currently dealing with over the past few days,” Bass said.
” And then there was a little bit of confusion because money was actually going to be distributed later, which would allow for salaries and other components of the fire department that were given out a little later. Therefore, I believe it is crucial to comprehend that our time was challenging financially. Everyone was aware of this, but it was true that what we’ve been through the past few days didn’t really change because of the budget’s impact.
Crowley told reporters Thursday that the , Palisades Fire,  , which remained 0 % contained as of Friday morning, “is one of the most destructive natural disasters in the history of Los Angeles”.
