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Dozens of protestors rallied outside the home of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Saturday and called for her resignation in the wake of the deadly and catastrophic wildfires that devastated Southern California this month.
The demonstration came amid a torrent of controversy surrounding the embattled mayor, with the roughly 40 protestors who gathered near her Windsor Square residence demanding she step aside citing her lack of leadership as the destructive fires erupted in Los Angeles County.
“Mayor Bass has been completely irresponsible,” Tony Bear, a West Los Angeles resident, told The Post.
“She left the city knowing the fire danger had risen. When emergencies start, people turn to the leader. The decision-making process was delayed, if not frozen, because Bass was in Ghana. Bass was the ultimate decision maker but she was missing.”
Bass, 71, faced scorching criticism for being thousands of miles away in Africa celebrating Ghana’s presidential inauguration as fires began to rage in the city.
She was further blasted over reports she cut the city’s fire department budget by $17.5 million ahead of the vicious blazes breaking out – with Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley admitting to local media that City Hall had failed her department and Angelenos.
Crowley explained that the LAFD was understaffed and underfunded, adding that the situation is “no longer sustainable.”
“It is shameful that Bass isn’t taking responsibility,” Bear added.
Brentwood resident David Chasin ripped the response.
“It was one of those hurricane fire situations you weren’t going to get under control but the Mayor is in charge and has to instill confidence,” he said.
“When you’re overseas, when your reservoir closest to the fire is empty, and when you’ve got a whole fleet of fire trucks sitting and waiting for repairs and service because you’ve underfunded the mechanics that service the fire department, and then you have a 1-in-100 or a 1-in-1000 year fire while your back is turned, that’s not leadership.”
As of Saturday, the Eaton Fire had been 73% contained while the Palisades Fire was said to be 43% contained.
At least 27 people were killed in the infernos, which destroyed 12,000 structures, including whole residential neighborhoods, and scorched more than 60 square miles of land.
English (US)