Kristin Crowley was elevated to Los Angeles fire chief in 2022 at a time of department turmoil. As a career firefighter, she was portrayed by the then-mayor as a stabilizing force.

Chief Kristin Crowley said during an interview Friday that the city failed the department amid the ongoing wildfires in Southern California that have taken at least 11 lives and burned more than 37,000 acres.

The mayor of Los Angeles is denying a Friday night “exclusive” report that she fired the city’s fire chief at a closed-door meeting earlier in the day. The pushback from Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass came after a Daily Mail article hit Friday evening and,