Frantic text messages have revealed the communication breakdown between Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass, who was in Ghana when deadly wildfires erupted, and her staff back in the US. The messages, obtained by ABC7 Eyewitness News, show that Bass faced technical difficulties while trying to coordinate the emergency response from thousands of miles away.
Bass was informed of the severity of the Palisades fire at 11:48 a.m. PT on January 7, while she was seven hours ahead in the African nation. The fire eventually tore through nearly 24,000 acres. Her deputy chief of staff, Celine Cordero, messaged: 'On phone with Chief Crowley now. 2 significant fires in the city now. She will call you mayor.'
During a video call later that day, Bass struggled to be heard. 'I am listening don't know why you can't tell me,' she said, before correcting herself to 'Hear me!' Her team replied that they still could not hear her. California Senator Adam Schiff later offered support, to which Bass replied that she was 'in the air headed home from Ghana' and would be in touch after landing.
The mayor faced heavy criticism from both sides of the political spectrum for being abroad during the crisis. Elon Musk called her 'utterly incompetent', and LA Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley said the city had failed the department after recent budget cuts. Bass initially told the outlet that her messages were set to auto-delete, but public records should be kept for at least two years under Los Angeles Administrative Code.
Despite the controversy, Bass said she was 'glad' the messages were now public, stating at a press conference: 'I hope that people can see exactly what I was doing.' She had been part of a US delegation attending the inauguration of Ghana's president, John Dramani Mahama, and had consistently posted updates on social media about the fires and evacuation orders.
