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Mayor Karen Bass Flies Back From Ghana As L.A. Faces Historic Wild Fires

“L.A. County and all 29 fire departments in our county are not prepared for this kind of widespread disaster,” said the L.A. County Fire Chief Marrone. The County was prepared to respond to one or two brush fires, but not four. “There are not enough firefighters to address four separate fires of this magnitude," he said.

10:57 AM PST on January 8, 2025

LAFD firefighting crews work on El Medio Ave in Pacific Palisades during the evening hours on January 7, 2025. (Brian Feinzimer / L.A. TACO.)

LAFD firefighting crews work on El Medio Ave in Pacific Palisades during the evening hours on January 7, 2025. Photo by Brian Feinzimer for L.A. TACO.

While hundreds of acres burned in the Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was overseas attending an event, according to a spokesperson for the mayor.

“She flew to Ghana as a part of a presidential diplomatic mission,” Zach Seidl, the mayor's director of communications, told L.A. TACO. Seidl could not confirm when the mayor flew to Ghana. 

According to a January 4 email detailing the mayor’s schedule, President Joe Biden invited Bass to “travel to Ghana as part of a Presidential Delegation to attend the January 7 inauguration of His Excellency John Dramani Mahama as Ghana’s President.”

Coincidentally, Biden is currently stuck in Los Angeles due to the fires.

Last night, Seidl told L.A. TACO that the mayor had contacted local leaders while she was out of town and is expected to return to Los Angeles this morning.