Los Angeles City Council cut fire department budget

As wildfires continue in Los Angeles, it has emerged that the city council made cuts to the fire department's budget.

Reports in the US press indicate that Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is facing serious criticism from the opposition for making a major cut to the fire department's budget in July 2024 and failing to foresee potential wildfires.

The reports state that months before the wildfires, Bass signed a decision cutting 17.6 million dollars from the budget allocated to the city's fire department.

Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia also shared on his X account that cuts were made to firefighting resources in the 2024-2025 fiscal year budget.

Mayor Bass has become a subject of criticism for cutting firefighting funds to provide additional resources for projects such as the zoo, libraries, and "cannabis regulation."

Mayor Bass was also accused of attending the inauguration of John Dramani Mahama, who was re-elected President in Ghana, while the fires were ongoing and returning late from the trip.

Civil activist Ricci Sergienko stated that cutting the firefighting fund in the 2024-2025 budget was wrong.

Another criticism directed at Mayor Karen Bass concerns her contribution to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) budget.

In Los Angeles, the lack of sufficient water in the reservoirs used to extinguish the fire has also become a subject of debate.

Authorities in Los Angeles had announced that a wildfire that broke out in one of the city's luxury neighborhoods was continuing in 6 areas and that 5 people had lost their lives so far.

Los Angeles Fire Department officials had stated that one of the most destructive fires in the city's history was taking place and that nearly 2 thousand homes had been completely burned down so far.

It was reported that the fire, for which state authorities issued evacuation orders for approximately 100 thousand people, had spread to the Hollywood area, and that many celebrities such as Paris Hilton, Mandy Moore, and Cary Elwes had lost their homes.

It was reported that all schools in the region were closed due to the fire.