The Los Angeles Times published a report Wednesday that alleges LA Mayor Karen Bass ordered an after-action analysis changed to make her and the city look better and to avoid potential liability. For months, she has denied requesting changes to the analysis, which came after massive fires torched huge swaths of LA in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena neighborhoods.
As RedState has reported extensively, the list of failures by the city and the state is lengthy: fire hydrants didn’t work, key mitigation efforts were not performed, a crucial reservoir was empty, some in the fire department seemed more focused on DEI and LGBTQ causes than preparing for big fires, and Bass herself was MIA when the conflagrations broke out.
Although she’d been warned of severe fire danger, she was MIA when they exploded because she decided it was a good time to head to Ghana to attend a presidential inauguration.
Insiders tell the outlet that she did indeed change the official narrative, however:
…two sources with knowledge of Bass’ office said that after receiving an early draft, the mayor told then-interim Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva that the report could expose the city to legal liabilities for those failures. Bass wanted key findings about the LAFD’s actions removed or softened before the report was made public, the sources said — and that is what happened.
The key changes she allegedly wanted detailed a failure to fully staff up and pre-deploy all available engines, even though oncoming high-intensity winds and severe fire danger had been widely reported.
“The mayor didn’t tell the truth when she said she had nothing to do with changing the report,” one of the sources told the outlet. Although the whistleblowers chose to remain anonymous for the story, two are reportedly willing to testify under oath.
The Los Angeles Times confirms what we all suspected from the beginning:
Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass directed the watering down of Palisades fire after-action reports.
She should be headed to prison, not reelection. pic.twitter.com/FofTYpNS4J
— Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) February 4, 2026
Since September, Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL) and Ron Johnson (R-WI) have been the co-leaders of a Senate panel investigating the response to the fires, and this new revelation has them demanding more answers.
.@SenRonJohnson and I sent @MayorOfLA Bass this letter on Oct. 10, 2025, requesting all records related to after-action reports.
I expect the Mayor’s FULL COOPERATION and TRANSPARENCY in light of these allegations. https://t.co/SxCOHlJA9u pic.twitter.com/PhdYbBAquZ
— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) February 4, 2026
DISASTROUS RESPONSE: LA-Area Fire Chief Mops the Floor With Mayor Karen Bass Over Disastrous Wildfire Response
LAFD Whistleblowers Destroy Official Narrative on Palisades Fire Cause
According to the report, Bass had been warned that her request was politically risky, but she plowed ahead anyway:
Bass, after seeing an early draft of the after-action report, wanted key findings of the Los Angeles Fire Department’s shortcomings scrubbed or watered down — and even warned then-interim Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva the unedited conclusions could expose the city to legal liability, sources close to the Democrat’s staff told the Los Angeles Times.
Bass was cautioned that the self-serving tweaks in with the report was a “bad idea” that could torpedo her political career, but still withheld the working draft until after changes were made, insiders told the Times.
Mayor Bass is already facing a crowded field in her reelection bid, with, among others, actor Spencer Pratt announcing a run and County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath reportedly mulling one of her own. The primary will occur in June.
MORE: Spencer Pratt’s Running for LA Mayor, Vows to Disinfect Every Dark Corner of LA Politics
This report is just the latest in a long line of setbacks for the embattled mayor as she tries to put a genial face on a colossal failure of leadership. She should expect Sens. Johnson and Scott to be calling shortly.
Editor’s Note: Gavin Newsom, Karen Bass, and the “progressives” are ruining California.
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