LA Mayor Karen Bass ignores awkward question from overseas reporter about California fires

SACRAMENTO – Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass remained awkwardly silent when questioned by an overseas reporter about devastating fires home again.

Video recorded by Sky News shows a reporter repeatedly ignored by Bass for nearly two minutes. The mayor was in Africa when the Los Angeles County fires started.

“Do you owe the citizens an apology for being away while their homes burned? Do you regret cutting the fire department by millions of dollars? Don’t you have anything to say today?” asked the reporter.

At a press conference upon her return to Los Angeles County, she answered questions.

“What explains this lack of preparation and quick response?” a reporter asked Bass at the press conference.

Bass responded in part: “Let me say first of all that my number one focus — and I’m thinking of all of us here, with one voice — is that we must protect life.”

Mayor Bass and California Governor Gavin Newsom were questioned about state and local policies that may have changed the outcome of the wildfires in LA County.

“People are always looking to scapegoat someone,” said Doug Elmets, a Sacramento crisis management expert. “I mean, it’s a tragedy and it seems to me at this point (that) everybody should come together to solve the problem. There’s always time to assign blame and it will come.”

A woman who said her daughter’s school burned down ran up to Newsom on an LA County street to question him about his reaction to the fires. A roughly two-minute long back-and-forth exchange included the woman saying she didn’t believe the governor when he told her he was talking to President Biden about how the federal government could help the region.

Also this week, president-elect Donald Trump pointed the finger at Newsom to fix the blame for the deadly fires.

A number of wildfires have devastated the Los Angeles area in just days. Thousands of structures have been destroyed and at least seven people have been killed.

As of Thursday evening, more than 179,000 people were under evacuation orders, while the combined burning area exceeded 54 square kilometers.