Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Emails Link Bass to Palisades Fire Messaging as Softer Final Report Faces Scrutiny

A mayoral aide rejects interference claims, characterizing contact with the fire department as routine.

Overview

  • The Los Angeles Times reported an Oct. 9 email in which LAFD spokesperson Capt. Erik Scott said further interviews with the fire chief would depend on the mayor’s guidance and warned a press conference could draw difficult questions.
  • The Times also reported that City Hall coordinated the release of the Palisades after-action report within hours of prosecutors announcing an arson connection to an earlier blaze.
  • The California Post said it obtained a 92-page draft of the after-action review that was longer than the version released in January and showed changed chapter titles and removal of terms such as “wind.”
  • According to the draft described by The California Post, the executive summary said the review was prepared at the mayor’s behest, a line that does not appear in the final report.
  • Draft language that cited insufficient resources for a wind-driven fire and limited pre-deployment to be fiscally responsible was softened in the final report, while a Bass aide, Yusef Robb, denied the mayor sought to dilute critiques.