The controversy surrounding Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’s handling of the Palisades Fire has escalated after revelations that her text messages during the wildfire’s critical early days were not preserved.
According to a report from the Los Angeles Times, the mayor’s office failed to retain text communications related to the emergency, despite state and local laws requiring government officials to preserve official records. The newspaper filed a public records request for messages Bass sent and received about the fires while she was on an official trip to Africa. However, the city responded that no such records exist.
City Attorney Defends Lack of Records, Cites Auto-Deletion Policy
While California public records laws typically require the retention of official government communications, City Attorney David Michaelson has stated that these regulations do not explicitly cover text messages. He further explained that Mayor Bass’s phone was set to automatically delete messages, resulting in the lack of any saved records from that period.
The Palisades Fire, which erupted in January 2025, became one of the most devastating wildfires in Los Angeles history, leading to multiple fatalities and thousands of structures destroyed. The fire’s rapid spread was exacerbated by extreme Santa Ana winds, conditions that had been anticipated by meteorologists in the days prior.
At the time of the fire’s outbreak, Mayor Bass was in Ghana, attending the inauguration of President John Mahama. She returned to Los Angeles on January 8 aboard a U.S. military transport, but her absence during the crisis and the subsequent lack of preserved communications have fueled criticism of her administration’s transparency and accountability.
Political Fallout and Fire Chief’s Dismissal
The missing text messages are the latest development in the ongoing controversy over the city’s wildfire response. Following the fire, former Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley was abruptly dismissed by Mayor Bass, a decision that sparked backlash from firefighter unions and local officials. Crowley later appealed her firing but was unsuccessful in regaining her position.
Bass’s handling of the fire response has also drawn scrutiny from city officials and firefighters, with some questioning whether her office ignored early warnings about the severity of the fire risk before she left for Africa. Recently unearthed emails suggest that Bass’s administration was aware of the heightened fire danger but chose not to implement additional preemptive measures.
Ongoing Investigations and Public Accountability Concerns
The revelation that no text records exist has fueled broader concerns about government transparency. ABC7 News has requested copies of the same records but has yet to receive confirmation on whether any additional communications will be released. Officials have stated that any response to records requests will not be produced until June.
As criticism mounts, Mayor Bass has yet to provide a public statement addressing the deleted messages or her administration’s decision to allow them to be automatically erased. The lack of documentation during a critical period of emergency response raises serious questions about public accountability and record-keeping practices within Los Angeles city government.
With the city still recovering from the devastation of the Palisades Fire, concerns remain about whether critical information—including potential missteps in emergency response coordination—has been permanently lost due to the erasure of text communications.
