Why Palisades Fire survivors furious at Karen Bass still back her for mayor: ‘The devil you know’

Palisades Fire survivors are backing Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass — despite blaming her for the disaster.

Four residents who lost their homes in the deadly blaze told the California Post they remain furious over her administration’s failures surrounding the fire, which ignited on Jan. 7, 2025, while Bass was in Ghana.

But their anger with the mayor isn’t enough to make them turn toward socialist-backed candidate Nithya Raman.

A recent California Post/McLaughlin poll found Raman leading Bass 46.7% to 38.8%, with 13.5% of potential voters undecided. Just 25.5% approved of Bass’s job performance, while 71.7% disapproved.

A newer UC Berkeley/Los Angeles Times poll showed the candidates tied at 40%, with 19% undecided, but found 65% of likely voters viewed Bass unfavorably.

For Nina Madok, a Republican whose home burned down, her support for Bass is hardly enthusiastic.

“Do I think Karen’s actions resulted in our town burning down? Yes. Do I think that she’s been problematic on delivering on some of the promises that she’s made, or the things we’ve asked them for? Yes, absolutely,” Madok said.

“But the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t.”

Jessica Rogers, president and executive director of the Palisades Long-Term Recovery Group, raised alarms about Raman and her allies in the Democratic Socialists of America.

“What we’re being faced with is not just an opponent. It’s a political machine called the Democratic Socialists of America,” said Rogers, adding that policies she associates with former DSA-backed Westside Councilman Mike Bonin damaged public safety.

She credited credited Bass with coordinating with federal environmental officials after the Palisades Fire, meeting with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration and responding to security concerns.

“Mayor Bass was asked to give us extra safety and security, and work with our law enforcement, and she did,” Rogers said.

Madok, who finally secured rebuilding permits and hopes to return home by December 2027, believes Bass’s administration understands the bureaucratic roadblocks delaying recovery.

“They have a deeper knowledge of what the issues are. They know where the bodies are buried,” she said.

Madok also believes Bass’s relationships with Republicans in Washington could help secure federal assistance.

“Karen Bass has not dismissed Republicans,” she said.

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Nearly 22 months after the blaze, which killed at least 12 people and destroyed more than 6,800 structures, rebuilding remains painfully slow.

Just 62 properties had received certificates of occupancy as of October 20, according to a private tracker using city permit records, while thousands of families remain displaced.

Sue Kohl, a former president of the Pacific Palisades Community Council who lost her home in the fire, acknowledged Bass made a serious mistake traveling to Ghana despite warnings of dangerous fire weather.

“All right, she made a mistake. She’s not the only human in the world to have ever made a mistake,” Kohl said.

In an exclusive interview with The Post on Friday, Bass said her “biggest regret is most obviously that I wasn’t here” during the fire.

Kohl credited Bass with visiting the community, sending deputies to recovery meetings and helping secure state restrictions on increased housing density in fire-damaged neighborhoods.

“Karen Bass works hard, and she has good people in her office, and she’s done everything in her power since the fire,” she said.

Kohl also criticized Raman’s opposition to anti-camping restrictions, saying that public safety must remain a priority.

Kaye Steinsapir, another Bass supporter, personally confronted the mayor over what she described as an absence of leadership after the fire.

“I’ve had quite a few conversations with the mayor myself. I didn’t sugarcoat anything that I said to her,” she said.

Steinsapir’s criticism was so harsh she feared the mayor’s office would never speak to her again.

Instead, Bass listened and continued working with community leaders, she said.

“I’ve seen cooperation, and good things from the mayor’s office that a lot of people in the community are unaware of,” Steinsapir added.

Their decisions echo those of billionaire developer Rick Caruso, Bass’s former political rival, and Palisades Councilwoman Traci Park, who both plan to vote for the mayor despite reservations about her leadership.

Caruso, who lost to Bass in 2022, announced Monday he would vote for his former opponent after working with her on rebuilding the fire-ravaged Palisades.

“For the love of LA, I must put the past behind me because this election must be about our future,” Caruso said. “I will be casting my ballot for Mayor Karen Bass.”

On Saturday, the Bass and Caruso appeared together Brentwood Country Mart for a meet-and-greet in the lead-up to Tuesday’s election.

“I know we need to look forward in the city, and the direction of the city is going to be critically important for the next four years,” Caruso said. “We have to support Mayor Bass so please vote for her.”

Park, whose district includes the devastated Palisades, also made clear she is voting for Bass without formally endorsing her.

“I’m not endorsing Karen Bass, but I am voting for Karen Bass,” Park said at a Palisades town hall.

“I hear you — I want some change too, but the alternative does not actually get us where we want to be,” Park said. “I think it actually impedes our progress, and unfortunately will take us back to where we were.”

Raman wrote a letter to the Palisadian-Post Friday in response to a high school student’s piece saying the Palisades Fire should weigh on voters’ minds come Election Day.

“The city’s failures before, during and after the Palisades Fire were staggering, heartbreaking and utterly unacceptable,” Raman wrote in response to the piece, which did not endorse either candidate.

“It is the mayor’s duty to ‘supervise emergency preparedness activities in the various departments and offices,’ as explicitly defined in our city charter. To say our current mayor failed in that duty when it was needed most is painfully obvious.”