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LAFD Memo Shows Plan to Protect Mayor Bass Ahead of Palisades Fire Report Release

A newly disclosed internal memo details a media strategy to shield the mayor’s reputation around the Palisades fire report.

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Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass speaks to journalists in a press conference to announce Steve Soboroff to lead L.A.'s wildfire rebuilding and recovery efforts on January 17, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. The announcement follows the devastating Palisades Fire, which erupted 10 days ago in Pacific Palisades, claiming at least 25 lives and destroying more than 3,500 structures across the area. Meanwhile, outside Los Angeles and beyond Mayor Karen Bass' jurisdiction, the Eaton Fire continues to burn in Altadena, northeast of the city. (Photo by Apu Gomes/Getty Images)

Overview

  • The 13-page internal 'strategic response plan' on LAFD letterhead said the goal was to prepare and protect Mayor Karen Bass, the city and the department from reputational harm before the Oct. 8, 2025 after-action report release, noting an update as of Oct. 7.
  • The plan proposed closed-door briefings with the Fire Commission and City Council to minimize tough Q&A and coordinated media messaging, with LAFD forming a crisis team and hiring PR firm Lede Co., whose fee was paid by the LAFD Foundation.
  • An LAFD spokesperson’s email referenced the mayor’s guidance on interviews and press events, while Bass denies directing report changes and has called earlier accounts of her involvement completely fabricated.
  • Reporting has shown the public after-action report was edited from earlier drafts to soften criticism of pre-deployment decisions before the deadly blaze, and report author Battalion Chief Kenneth Cook refused to endorse the final version.
  • LAFD Chief Jaime Moore has acknowledged edits and says many of the report’s 42 recommendations are being implemented, while a separate independent review is examining the Lachman fire that reportedly rekindled into the Palisades blaze.