The LA Fire Chief warned in the weeks before the devastating Palisades fire that the decision to cut the department's budget by nearly $18 million would diminish its ability to prepare for and respond to large scale emergencies.
The budget reduction, approved last year by Mayor Karen Bass, was mostly absorbed by leaving many administrative jobs at the fire department unfilled, but that left about $7 million that had to be cut from its overtime budget -- which was earmarked for training, fire prevention, and other key functions.
"The reduction... has severely limited the department's capacity to prepare for, train for, and respond to large-scale emergencies, including wildfires," Chief Kristin Crowley wrote in a memo Dec. 4, 2024.
The variable overtime hours, called "V-Hours" within the LAFD, were used to pay for FAA-mandated pilot training and helicopter coordination staffing for wildfire suppression, the memo said.
Mayor Bass said Wednesday evening the budget cuts did not have an impact on the LAFD's response to the Palisades and other wildfires.
"I am confident that it did not," Bass answered in response to the fire chief's memo, and suggested fire spending would exceed the amounts budgeted for the fiscal year.
Bass also dismissed criticism that she was on an overseas trip when the fires started during intense winds that had been forecast several days in advance.
"Although I was not physically here I was in contact with many of the individuals that are standing here throughout the entire time," Bass said.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
"I was on the phone, on the plane, almost every hour of the flight," she said.
The Fire Chief's memo was presented last month to the Board of Fire Commissioners, a panel of mayoral appointees who oversee the management of the Department.
"Without this funding, pilot compliance and readiness are jeopardized, and aerial firefighting capabilities are diminished," it said. "Changes to the Air Operations Section impact the Department's ability to adhere to current automatic and mutual aid agreements, provide air ambulance service, and quickly respond to woodland fires with water dropping helicopters."
The memo also highlighted other programs that would suffer under the cuts, including the Disaster Response Section, which funds the bulldozer teams that cut breaks and control lines around wildfires, and the Critical Incident Planning and Training Section, which develops plans for major emergencies.
Fire officials downplayed the potential impact the cuts would have on a major emergency, and referred questions to Chief Crowley, who was unavailable due to another fire igniting in the Hollywood Hills late Wednesday.
"Any fire department, even our size, is stressed thin, which is why we call-in our mutual aid partners," said LAFD spokesman Jacob Raabe.
The Palisades Fire started Tuesday and, fanned by powerful winds, destroyed hundreds of buildings and burned about 15,800 acres. It is one of five wildfires burning in Southern California.
