LA wildfire report was edited to ‘soften’ criticism — as questions swirl about mayor’s role: chief

An official report on Los Angeles’ response to last year’s wildfires was edited to “soften” criticism of the fire department’s response, a top official said Tuesday — as questions swirled over Mayor Karen Bass’ role in the changes.

LA Fire Chief Jaime Moore’s bombshell comments on Tuesday come after it was revealed the former interim chief sent a draft of the LAFD’s Palisades fire report to Bass’ office for “refinements,” the Los Angeles Times reported.

“It is now clear that multiple drafts were edited to soften language and reduce explicit criticism of department leadership in that final report,” Moore told the Times. “This editing occurred prior to my appointment as fire chief. And I can assure you that nothing of this sort will ever again happen while I am fire chief.”

A “working draft” of the after-action report differed from the final draft in several significant ways — with a section axed that had said the LAFD decision not to fully staff up with all available crews ahead of the forecast didn’t align with city policy, the Times reported.

The final draft commended said department brass “went above and beyond” a standard “pre-deployment matrix.”

Bass’s office denied the mayor had anything to do with the edits.

“The report was written and edited by the Fire Department,” spokesperson Clara Karger previously told the Times. “We did not red-line, review every page or review every draft of the report.”

But former Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva had said the report was sent to the office for “refinements” — which the president of the civilian fire oversight board previously said could signal there was an effort to prevent the city from looking as if it mishandled the response.

Bass has already faced criticism over the handling of the Palisades fire — from confusion over evacuations to her being abroad when the blaze erupted. Critics have also scrutinized nearly $18 million in Fire Department budget cuts in April 2024 ahead of the deadly fires.

The fire killed 12 people and destroyed wide swaths of the Palisades area.

The original author of the report also refused to endorse the released document, saying revisions changed or deleted sections in ways that altered his conclusions.