LA fire sounded alarm on budget cuts impacting wildfire response: memo

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Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass dodges questions about raging wildfires

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass refused to answer Sky News reporter David Blevins questions about her initial absence as wildfires raged across her jurisdiction. (Sky News)

The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) chief warned a month ago that a near $18 million budget cut had plunged it into "unprecedented operational challenges" which would hamper its ability to respond to large-scale emergencies like wildfires.

LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley sounded off on the budget cuts in a Dec. 4 memo viewed by Fox News Digital where she foresaw what she described as the "cascading impacts" the cost-saving measures would have on the department.

The city slashed $17.6 million from the LAFD in its latest budget and the decision has come in for scathing criticism as several monster fires rip through the county with at least 10 people already announced dead from the disaster.

California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass tour the downtown business district of Pacific Palisades as the Palisades Fire continues to burn on Jan. 8, 2025, in Los Angeles. (Eric Thayer/Getty Images)

CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES DEVASTATE LOS ANGELES COUNTY, KILLING 5 AND THREATENING THOUSANDS OF HOMES

The budget measures were signed off by LA Mayor Karen Bass — whose leadership has also come in for scrutiny — and she has denied the cuts have hindered the city’s response. The cuts come into effect on July 1, 2024.

Crowley wrote that those reductions eliminated critical civilian positions and about $7 million from the LAFD’s overtime budget, known as "v-hours."

"These budgetary reductions have adversely affected the department’s ability to maintain core operations, such as technology and communication infrastructure, payroll processing, training, fire prevention and community education," Crowley wrote.

"The reduction in v-hours ... has severely limited the department's capacity to prepare for, train for, and respond to large-scale emergencies, including wildfires, earthquakes, hazardous materials incidents and large public events," Crowley wrote in the memo.

Flames from the Palisades Fire burn a building on Sunset Boulevard amid a powerful windstorm on Jan. 8, 2025, in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. (Apu Gomes/Getty Images)

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Various units and teams which rely on v-hours are now at risk of "reduced effectiveness."

The 21-page memo, titled "Los Angeles Fire Department Service Impacts on Operations," then went into further detail about the budget-slashing effects. It was presented last month to the Board of Fire Commissioners, a panel of mayoral appointees who oversee the management of the department, according to a report from NBC Los Angeles.

For instance, the overtime hours were used in part to pay for FAA-mandated pilot training and helicopter coordination staffing for wildfire suppression, according to Crowley’s memo, which was presented to the Board of Fire Commissioners.

"Without this funding, pilot compliance and readiness are jeopardized, and aerial firefighting capabilities are diminished," the memo reads. "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."

Crowley called for the funding to be restored.  

"This report provides an in-depth analysis of these cascading impacts, underscoring the critical need for resource restoration to ensure operational readiness, firefighter safety, and the delivery of high-quality public service," she wrote.

Bass was asked about the budget cuts at a press conference Thursday and denied the cuts diminished the city’s response. 

"There were no reductions that were made that would have impacted the situation that we were dealing with over the last couple of days," Bass said. 

"And then there was a little bit there was a little bit of confusion because money was allocated to be distributed later on, which was actually going to support salaries and other parts of the fire department that were distributed a little later. So I think it's most important to understand that we were in tough budgetary times. Everybody knew that, but that the impact of our budget really did not impact what we've been going through over the last few days."

Firefighters work a fire during Eaton fire on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. in Altadena, Calif. (Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

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In addition to the budget cuts, Bass has been facing criticism for being in Ghana for a presidential inauguration there when the fires broke out in her city on Tuesday. President-elect Trump has pinned some blame on California Gov. Newsom for the disaster, accusing him of refusing to sign a water restoration declaration and criticizing him for the low fire containment.

Crowley told reporters Thursday that the Palisades Fire, which remains 0% contained at the time of this report, "is one of the most destructive natural disasters in the history of Los Angeles." 

A spokesperson for the mayor's office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

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Fox News’ Emmett Jones contributed to this report.