Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was stunned into silence after being asked to apologise to residents for cutting the fire service’s budget by millions.
Bass received heavy criticism from Los Angeles residents for not being present during a trip to Ghana when wildfires broke out in the city on Tuesday night, despite meteorologists issuing warnings about the high fire risk in LA.
Additionally, a series of failures by LA city officials have been uncovered, including fire hydrants without water and electricity left on to fuel the flames, resulting in the deaths of five people.
Thousands of people have been forced to evacuate affluent neighborhoods in the city as homes and businesses are destroyed. During an interview with a Sky News reporter, Bass was asked if she owed citizens an apology for her absence while their homes were burning.
As the mayor remained stone-faced, the reporter continued: ‘Do you regret cutting the fire department’s budget by millions of dollars, Madam Mayor? Have you nothing to say today?’
Still without receiving any answer, the reporter asked once again: ‘Have you absolutely nothing to say to the citizens today? Elon Musk says that you’re utterly incompetent. Are you reconsidering your position?’
Despite the questions, Bass continued to remain completely silent for nearly a minute before walking away from the interviewer.
It comes as Los Angeles Times owner Dr. Pat Soon-Shiong blamed the mayor for cutting LA Fire Department’s budget, reminding followers how ‘competence matters’.
He said in a tweet: ‘Our hearts go out to those who have lost their homes and are seeking shelter. Fires in LA are sadly no surprise, yet the Mayor cut LA Fire Department’s budget by $23M.
‘And reports of empty fire hydrants raise serious questions. Competence matters…’
For the 2023-2024 year, Los Angeles budgeted $837million for the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD), which was only 65% the size of the homeless budget of $1.3 billion, Fox Business reports.
For the 2024-2025 budgets, the LAFD’s budget was then reduced by more than $17million from $837million to $819million.
The $23million Soon-Shiong is referencing was Bass’ original budget proposal.
Governor Gavin Newsom also showed emotion in an interview when asked about Donald Trump placing the blame on the California governor for the disastrous, killer wildfires that have ravaged the state.
Trump said that the governor, who he referred to as ‘Gavin Newscum,’ a favorite of the Republican’s pet names, was at fault for the disaster.
The president-elect lambasted Newsom in a Truth Social post Wednesday for focusing on environmental priorities like ‘worthless fish’ over those of Golden State residents.
Speaking to Anderson Cooper amid the fires in Los Angeles Wednesday, Newsom was visibly hurt by the criticism.
‘People are literally fleeing. People have lost their lives. Kids lost their schools, families completely torn asunder, churches burned down, he said.’
Newsom avoided going further in on Trump: ‘I have a lot of thoughts and I know what I want to say… I won’t.’
He then raged at Trump for trying to ‘politicize’ the disaster, while contrasting him with Joe Biden.
Following the outbreak of wildfires, Bass has posted regular updates on her X account thanking LAPD firefighters for tackling the ongoing blaze, while sharing information about emergency shelters.
However, residents have criticized officials for failing to cut off electricity to power lines, as shocking footage shows how energized cables have fueled fires.
Local people have also blasted Los Angeles County for allegedly refusing to refill the reservoirs, meaning fire hydrants are running dry in some areas and leaving firefighters hobbled in their attempts to extinguish the flames.
Businessman and mayoral candidate Rick Caruso blasted local officials for failing to refill the water supplies despite knowing that strong winds which could whip up wildfires were on the way.
‘Their hands have been tied. They can’t fight a fire without water and the resources that are needed. Everybody knew these winds were coming,’ Caruso told Fox 11.
‘The other question has to be, were all the things in place to try to mitigate the damage here.
‘The real issue to me here is two-fold. We’ve had decades to remove the brush in these hills that spreads so quickly, and the second is, we’ve got to have water.
‘My understanding is the reservoir was not refilled in time, in a timely manner to keep the hydrants going… this is basic stuff, this isn’t high science here.
‘It’s all about leadership and management that we’re seeing a failure of, and all of these residents are paying the ultimate price for that.’
Residents have criticized officials for failing to cut off electricity to power lines, as shocking footage shows how energized cables have fueled fires.
Local people have also blasted Los Angeles County for allegedly refusing to refill the reservoirs, meaning fire hydrants are running dry in some areas and leaving firefighters hobbled in their attempts to extinguish the flames.
