Which means nothing Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass he refused to answer reporters' questions after he was forced to leave his home for the first time as wildfires raged across his estate.
“Do you owe the citizens an apology for being away while their houses were burning? And do you regret cutting the Fire Department's budget by millions of dollars, Madame Mayor?” Sky News reporter David Blevins asked as Bass waits to land on Wednesday after his trip to Ghana.
“Don't you have anything to tell the citizens today?” he added.
CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES RAGE AROSS LOS ANGELES COUNTY, FORCING THOUSANDS TO Evacuate.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass listened to Gov. Gavin Newsom spoke as he toured the city's fire damage on Wednesday. (Mayor Karen Bass / X)
Bass refused to acknowledge the reporter, continuing to ignore questions while looking down.
“No forgiveness for them? You think you should I have been visiting Ghana when this was happening back there?” he said.
“Madam mayor, let me ask you again, do you have something to say to the residents today when you return?” he said.
The Palisades Fire engulfs a building in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Wednesday. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)
On Wednesday, at an evening press conference in Los Angeles, Bass said he had taken a “quick route back,” adding that he had spent. military aircraft for his early arrival.
“I took the fastest way back, which included being on a military plane, which helped us communicate,” he said, admitting he was thousands of kilometers away when the fires started. the first appears on Tuesday. “So I was able to stay on the phone the entire flight.”
THE MAYOR OF LOS ANGELES OPERATED THE FIRE ALARM LAST YEAR, STORMING THE HOUSES OF LARGE RESIDENTS.
“We're fighting for you and everyone in Los Angeles,” he said, seeming to read the prepared words.
At one point during the press conference, the mayor's details seemed to confuse him, and he mistakenly said: “Emergency information, equipment and shelter are available. All this can be found at the URL. “
Bass's leadership has come under fire as many blame him for the disaster, pointing to the huge cuts he made to the fire department that he spent on the city's homeless.
For the 2023-2024 financial year, Los Angeles a budget of $837 million for the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD), which was roughly 65% of the $1.3 billion homeless budget.
From 2023-2024 to 2024-2025, the LAFD budget was reduced b.y $17,553,814 from $837,191,237 to $819,637,423.
Cars and a house are on fire as strong winds fan wildfires in the Los Angeles area, forcing people to evacuate the Eaton Fire in Altadena, Calif., Wednesday. (Reuters/David Swanson)
Bass' arrival in the area comes as wildfires continue to burn in Los Angeles County, leaving hundreds of thousands of residents under evacuation orders.
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Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna told Fox News that five people have been killed in the Eaton Fire, as of Wednesday afternoon.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Bass' office for comment.
Fox News Digital's Breck Dumas contributed to this report.