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An expressionless Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. refused to answer reporters’ questions after being pressed for her initial absence as wildfires raged through her jurisdiction.
“Do you owe the citizens an apology for being absent while their homes burned? And do you regret cutting the Fire Department’s budget by millions of dollars, Madam Mayor?” Sky News journalist David Blevins asked. as Bass waited to disembark on Wednesday after his trip to Ghana.
“You have absolutely nothing to say to the citizens today?” he added.
CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES ARE OCCURRING ACROSS LOS ANGELES COUNTY, FORCING THOUSANDS TO EVACUATE
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass listens to Governor Gavin Newsom’s speech as she tours fire damage in the city on Wednesday. (Mayor Karen Bass/X)
Bass refused to acknowledge the journalist and continued to ignore the questions while looking at the ground.
“No apology to them? Do you think you should have?” been visiting Ghana while this was going on at home?” he said.
“Madam Mayor, let me ask you again: do you have anything to say to the citizens today when you return?” said.
The Palisades Fire burns a structure in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Eugene García)
During a late afternoon news conference in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Bass said he took “the quickest route back,” adding that he used a military plane for your prompt arrival.
“I took the quickest route back, which included being on a military plane, which made our communications easier,” he said, acknowledging that he was thousands of miles away when the first wildfires broke out on Tuesday. “So I was able to be on the phone throughout the flight.”
THE MAYOR OF LOS ANGELES CUT THE FIRE BUDGET LAST YEAR, PRIORITIZING THE HOMELESS POPULATION
“We are fighting for you and for everyone in Los Angeles,” he said, appearing to be reading from prepared remarks.
Bass’s leadership has been in the spotlight as many have blamed her for the disaster, pointing to the massive budget cuts she made to critical firefighting forces that poured into spending for the city’s homeless population.
For fiscal year 2023-2024, Los Angeles budgeted $837 million for the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD), which was approximately 65% the size of the $1.3 billion homeless budget.
From the 2023-2024 budget to the 2024-2025 budget, the LAFD budget was reduced band $17,553,814 from $837,191,237 to $819,637,423.
Vehicles and a home burn as powerful winds fueling devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area force people to evacuate, at the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California, on Wednesday. (Reuters/David Swanson)
Bass’s arrival on the scene comes as wildfires continue to rage through Los Angeles County, leaving hundreds of thousands of residents under evacuation orders.
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Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna told Fox News that five people died in the Eaton fire as of Wednesday afternoon.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Bass’s office for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Breck Dumas contributed to this report.
