During an interview with CNN released on Tuesday, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said that massive fire damage could have been prevented “if the city and the county had acted differently and had prepared.” And “the criticism before had been we cried wolf when we said there were going to be major weather events and it didn’t happen, then we were criticized for overacting. And so, unfortunately, that did not happen in any level with this.”
Host Elex Michaelson asked, “Do you think that, knowing what we know now, looking back, that this fire could have either been prevented or way, way, way less in terms of its damage if the city would have acted differently?”
Bass answered, “Well, I think if the city and the county had acted differently and had prepared. Let me tell you what happens in a normal weather emergency is that both the county and the city come together, our fire departments, our emergency services, we brief, everybody is briefed, including law enforcement. You’ve seen this, you’ve covered this. As a matter of fact, the criticism before had been we cried wolf when we said there were going to be major weather events and it didn’t happen, then we were criticized for overacting. And so, unfortunately, that did not happen in any level with this.”
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