The Infuriating Reason Why LA's Mayor Isn't in Town As the County Burns

Where’s the mayor? Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass might be tweeting about the firefighters and emergency rescue crews doing their jobs to save lives and protect as much property as possible. Still, she’s not even in the country. She’s in Ghana for President John Dramani Mahama’s inauguration.

While LA burns, its mayor is on a taxpayer-funded trip to Ghana. https://t.co/hQG9hYO448
— Joe Concha (@JoeConchaTV) January 8, 2025

The fire has devastated Malibu and the Pacific Palisades. At least 30,000 people were under mandatory evacuation orders as the wildfire rampaged through LA County. All aircraft were grounded due to the high winds, which had 80-105 mph gusts last night. At least two people have died, though we should expect the death toll to climb. There are numerous injuries and at least 1,000 buildings destroyed.

ABC NEWS SPECIAL REPORT: Ongoing coverage as three wildfires burn around LA County, prompting sweeping evacuations.https://t.co/OYpXsCW3k4
— ABC News (@ABC) January 8, 2025

BREAKING: Los Angeles is now battling three active wildfires. The Sylmar Fire has quickly spread to 50 acres, the Eaton Fire has grown to 400 acres, and the Palisades Fire is currently burning across 2,921 acres. pic.twitter.com/aYDSsRB25X
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) January 8, 2025

As Leah wrote earlier this morning, some fire hydrants on the front lines of this inferno don’t even have water. It also didn’t help that Mayor Bass cut almost $20 million from the fire department a few months ago (via NY Post):

The Los Angeles Fire Department had its budget cut by a staggering $17.6 million this financial year, records show — as fire crews continue to battle out-of-control blazes ravaging the City of Angels.
The drastic decrease in funding for the fire department was the second-largest cut to come out of embattled Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass‘ 2024-25 fiscal year budget, according to city figures.
The police budget, meanwhile, increased by $126 million, a graphic shared by LA City Controller Kenneth Mejia shows.
Bass had initially wanted to cut the fire department by even more — a staggering $23 million.
The details on Bass’ budget slashing resurfaced as the mayor faced widespread backlash Wednesday after it was revealed she was away in Africa for the Ghana president’s inauguration — even as wind-whipped wildfires turned parts of her city into an apocalyptic hellscape.

I can’t get my head around no water in the fire hydrants. NONE. No brush management for 30 years, incompetent evac planning, and no water for firefighters to combat the flames. The helplessness these people must feel. Pray for these people, this is devastating pic.twitter.com/4PfMEgMwL0
— Kristen Garcia Dumont (@kgarciadumont) January 8, 2025

This is what’s left of the Pacific Palisades. The mall survived. Most everything else is gone. Homes, apartment complexes… businesses. pic.twitter.com/Vfz721V48J
— Jonathan Vigliotti 🐋 (@JonVigliotti) January 8, 2025

A full recall of all firefighters was issued last night.

Utterly destruction in Malibu.pic.twitter.com/dFy3EZdmrk
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) January 8, 2025

THIS WILL MAKE YOU ANGRY: A woman reveals that her 90-year-old parents, who have lived in the same home for 75 years, recently had their fire insurance canceled just before wildfires swept through Southern California. She says she’s now left to protect the property on her own. pic.twitter.com/e7p8GHesLg
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) January 8, 2025