LA Mayor Karen Bass admits Ghana trip before California wildfires was a mistake
LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is addressing her trip to Africa during the historic windstorm that preceded January's deadly Los Angeles wildfires, admitting for the first time that she now views it as a "mistake."
"Obviously I hated the fact that I was out of the city when the city needed me the most," Bass said in an interview Tuesday. "And frankly, when my family needed me the most because I was impacted, my family was impacted by the fires as well. It is a horrible feeling to know that it took a long time to come back because of how far away I was."
The mayor spoke to ABC Los Angeles affiliate KABC at a residential property in Pacific Palisades that was the first lot cleared of debris by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the fire zone.
Bass addressed the controversial trip she took to Africa in early January, when dire warnings were issued about powerful winds and the Jan. 7 Palisades Fire broke out. She was traveling as a representative of the Biden administration at the time.
"It was a mistake to travel, but I will tell you that we need to evaluate everything," Bass said. "Because, honest and truly, if I had all of the information that I needed to have, the last thing I would have done was to be out of town."
Phase 2 of debris removal continues in Pacific Palisades
Meanwhile, crews continued to remove debris from the burn area in Pacific Palisades as part of the process's Phase 2. But not all homeowners are opting-in to have the Army Corps of Engineers clear their property of wreckage. Some residents have hired private companies to handle the cleanup.
The Army says Phase 2 will be complete by January 2026.
Officials, including Bass, have encouraged homeowners to have the Army Corps of Engineers handle debris removal, guaranteeing accordance with regulations and the transport of waste to 24 designated sites.
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Col. Brian Sawser, commander of the Army Corps of Engineers' emergency field office, said the first lot cleared in the Pacific Palisades zone was cleaned up in about two days.
"It started with that site assessment, the walkaround," Sawser said. "The property owner, if they elect to be on site they are invited to be on site. It's a partner ship with those survivors.
"For this size of a property, it was a relatively short amount of time," he said of the debris removal. "What I can tell you from the Corps of Engineers is, we will do it the right manner, we will take on all of the certification process, and it will be no cost to the homeowner."
Bass said she believes not everyone realizes how complicated the cleanup process is.
"For example, I know this weekend, members of my staff were having to troubleshoot with a couple of people who chose to do Phase 2 on their own and they were having a heck of a time," the mayor said. "So if you have your Right of Entry form, please fill it out.
She urged anyone considering opting-out to "think very hard" about it before doing so, "because once you opt-out you're on your own. But you have to have certified people to come and do this. So I would be terrified to use somebody that just had a sign up. And then I would have to say Where are they going to dump the stuff?"
