Bombshell New Report Alleges LA Mayor Bass Watered Down Post-Fire Analysis – GOP Senators Want Answers – RedState
The Los Angeles Times published a report Wednesday alleging that Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass ordered a change to the after-action review to make her and the city look better and to avoid potential liability. For months, she denied requesting changes to the analysis, following massive fires that torched large swaths of Los Angeles in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena neighborhoods.
As RedState has widely reported, the list of city and state failures is long: Fire hydrants didn’t work, major mitigation efforts weren’t done, a crucial reservoir was empty, some fire department members seemed more focused on DEI and LGBTQ causes than preparing for big fires, and Bass herself was MIA when the fires broke out.
Even though she had been warned of serious fire danger, she was MIA when they exploded because she decided it was a good time to travel to Ghana to attend a presidential inauguration.
Insiders told the outlet that she had indeed changed the official narrative:
…two sources with knowledge of Bass’ office said that after receiving an initial draft, the mayor told then-acting Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva that the report could expose the city to legal liability for those failures. Bass wanted key findings about the LAFD’s actions removed or toned down before the report was made public, the sources said — and that’s what happened.
The main changes she would have liked were the failure to staff and pre-deploy all available engines, even though high-intensity winds and serious fire hazards had been widely reported.
“The mayor was not telling 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, two of them are reportedly willing to testify under oath.
The Los Angeles Times confirms what we all suspected all along:
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has ordered a watering down of after-action reports on the Palisades fires.
She should go to jail, not be re-elected. pic.twitter.com/FofTYpNS4J
– Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) February 4, 2026
Since September, Senators Rick Scott (R-FL) and Ron Johnson (R-WI) have been co-leaders of a Senate committee investigating the fire response, and this new revelation has them demanding more answers.
.@SenRonJohnson and I sent @MayorDeLA Bass this letter dated October 10, 2025, requesting all records related to after action reports.
I expect FULL COOPERATION and TRANSPARENCY from the Mayor in light of these allegations. https://t.co/SxCOHlJA9u pic.twitter.com/PhdYbBAquZ
– Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) February 4, 2026
DISASTROUS RESPONSE: Los Angeles-area fire chief cleans the floor with Mayor Karen Bass following disastrous wildfire response
LAFD Whistleblowers Destroy Official Narrative on Cause of Palisades Fire
According to the report, Bass had been warned that her request was politically risky, but she continued anyway:
Bass, after seeing an early draft of the after-action report, wanted key findings about the Los Angeles Fire Department’s shortcomings erased or watered down — and even warned then-acting Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva that the unedited findings could expose the city to legal liability, sources close to the Democrat’s staff told the Los Angeles Times.
Bass was warned that self-serving changes to the report were a “bad idea” that could torpedo her political career, but she still withheld the working draft until changes were made, insiders told the Times.
Mayor Bass already faces a strong field in her re-election bid, with, among others, actor Spencer Pratt announcing his candidacy and County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath reportedly mulling one of her own. The primary will take place in June.
MORE: Spencer Pratt is running for mayor of Los Angeles and vows to sanitize every dark corner of Los Angeles politics
The report is just the latest in a long line of setbacks for the embattled mayor as she attempts to put a sympathetic face on a colossal failure of leadership. She should expect Senators Johnson and Scott to call shortly.
Editor’s note: Gavin Newsom, Karen Bass and the “progressives” are ruining California.
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