The Brief
- Internal emails reveal Mayor Karen Bass acted as the “ultimate authority” over LAFD media messaging following the 2025 Palisades Fire report.
- The reporting alleges the Mayor’s office coordinated the timing of the report’s release to manage the fallout from LAFD’s failure to extinguish an earlier arson fire.
- Bass and her advisers deny any inappropriate interference, stating her involvement was standard oversight for a major city department.
LOS ANGELES – Mayor Karen Bass reportedly exercised strict control over how the Los Angeles Fire Department communicated with the public following a controversial after-action report on the devastating January 2025 Palisades Fire.
What we know:
According to internal emails reviewed by the LA Times, LAFD spokesperson Capt. Erik Scott indicated in October 2025 that any media interviews or press conferences regarding the Palisades Fire would be “contingent on the Mayor’s direction.”…