L.A. Mayor Karen Bass Faces Backlash Over Ghana Trip and Cuts to LAFD Budget Amidst Wildfires Ravaging L.A. County – One America News Network
OAN Staff Blake Wolf
10:45 AM – Wednesday, January 8, 2025
As large areas of Los Angeles County face destruction from intense wildfires, Los Angeles Democrat Mayor Karen Bass was reportedly at a presidential inauguration in Ghana, West Africa.
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Several wildfires erupted, devastating the residents of Los Angeles on Tuesday as flames ravaged over 4,000 acres of land, driven by wind gusts reaching up to 100 miles per hour.
In a state of panic, residents sought assistance from their mayor, only to discover she was over 7,000 miles away on a political trip.
“Mayor Karen Bass is currently on a taxpayer-funded trip in Ghana. She has previously cut the budgets for both firefighters and public works. Now, her city is in flames due to a lack of firefighters and water. Resign Mayor Bass,” one user commented in an X post.
“LA Mayor Karen Bass is enjoying herself in Ghana while her city burns down,” another user remarked.
Bass slashed the Los Angeles Fire Department’s budget by $17.6 million this year, leaving the firefighters with inadequate resources to combat the raging infernos.
“Water supply just dropped,” one firefighter communicated over the radio, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. “The hydrants are down.”
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power confirmed incidences of “empty hydrants” but didn’t provide additional details.
“The firefighters are present but powerless – we have neighborhoods ablaze, homes consumed by fire, and businesses destroyed… it’s unacceptable,” expressed Rick Caruso, a former commissioner of the city’s water board and billionaire real estate developer.
In the meantime, President-elect Donald Trump criticized California Governor Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) on social media.
“Governor Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration declaration that would have allowed millions of gallons of water from excess rain and snow melt from the North to flow daily into many parts of California, including the regions currently burning in a near-apocalyptic manner. He wanted to protect a virtually worthless fish called a smelt at the expense of California’s residents. Now, the catastrophic consequences are being faced. I will demand that this incompetent governor allow fresh water to FLOW INTO CALIFORNIA! He is responsible for this. Plus, there’s no water for fire hydrants or firefighting aircraft. A true disaster!” Trump stated in a Truth Social post.
The major wildfires have resulted in at least two fatalities, with 0% of the fires currently contained, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Nonetheless, reports suggest that Bass is returning to Los Angeles today and is expected to be back in the city in a “few hours,” as shared by a source from the media outlet INKL News.
Bass was part of a four-person U.S. presidential delegation attending the inauguration of John Dramani Mahama, Ghana’s new president.
Rick Caruso, a billionaire real estate developer and fellow Democrat who was Bass’s opponent in the 2022 Los Angeles mayoral election, expressed to Fox 11 that there has been a “failure” in leadership and management. He also emphasized that “everyone was aware these winds were coming” and that the severe threat should have been prepared for.
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