A former US attorney blasts Mayor Bass for her handling of the recent wildfires in Los Angeles, calling it negligent and unacceptable.
Valentine claims it took fire crews a shocking 45 minutes to start dropping water after the Palisades Fire broke out last week. He feels he can’t trust her to lead the city anymore.
He told NewsNation, “I think Mayor Bass bears the ultimate responsibility for this failure.” He’s been in the community for 40 years and has seen good responses to fires before, so he’s baffled by the delay this time.
Valentine and his wife even filmed the fire as it started. They called 911 around 10:30 a.m. last Tuesday, and the flames quickly grew. The footage shows the fire doubling in size before a helicopter arrived to help.
He believes the fire could have been contained if the response had been quicker. The LA Fire Department has pointed to budget cuts as part of the problem, as Bass had slashed $17.6 million from their funding.
They also faced issues with local hydrants running dry due to low water pressure. But Valentine argues that with a prompt response and enough water, they could have kept the fire from spreading to homes.
As of late Tuesday, the Palisades Fire was only 18% contained and has already caused significant destruction, claiming at least eight lives and damaging thousands of properties.
