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Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass sacked the Fire Chief for leadership failures during the January fires.
Crowley was criticised for not conducting an after-action report and sending firefighters home.
Tensions rose after Crowley blamed budget cuts for affecting the fire department’s response capabilities.
The axing of Kristin Crowley comes six weeks after America’s second most populous city was href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/los-angeles-fire-investigation-earlier-fire-possibly-sparked-by-residents-fireworks/DRXQFFZCXBDOFLBZRDFHYQY2CE/" target="_self" rel="" title="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/los-angeles-fire-investigation-earlier-fire-possibly-sparked-by-residents-fireworks/DRXQFFZCXBDOFLBZRDFHYQY2CE/">ravaged by fires that left at least 29 people dead and vast areas in ruins.
“Acting in the best interest of Los Angeles public safety and for the operations of the Los Angeles Fire Department, I just met with Chief Crowley and removed her as fire chief,” Bass told reporters.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (left) has sacked the city's fire chief Kristin Crowley (right), blaming her for leadership failures in the handling of deadly blazes that tore through the California metropolis in January. Photo / AFP
The mayor said she has called for a full investigation of “everything” leading up to January 7, when the fires began.
“A necessary step to the investigation was the president of the fire commission telling Chief Crowley to do an after-action report on the fires. The fire chief refused,” Bass said.
“We all know that 1000 firefighters that could have been on duty on the morning the fires broke were instead sent home on Chief Crowley’s watch. These actions required her removal.”
Tensions had flared between the two officials even as flames raged in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena neighbourhoods.
Flames from the Palisades fire burned homes along Pacific Coast Highway at the start of the year in Malibu, California. Photo / Getty Images
There was sharp criticism over the firefight, particularly in the tony Pacific Palisades area, where hydrants ran dry because of huge demands on the system.
Just days after the wind-driven fires broke out, Crowley blindsided city bosses by telling a local television interviewer that Los Angeles had failed her department, which she described as understaffed and underfunded.
“My message is the fire department needs to be properly funded,” Crowley told the local Fox television channel. “It’s not.”
An appearance on national TV compounded the rift when she told CNNthat budget cuts had directly affected her ability to fight the mammoth fires.
Police officers helped people evacuate along Sunset Boulevard as fire burned in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood of Los Angeles. Photo / Getty Images
Hours later, Bass hauled Crowley in for a closed-door meeting that ran so late Bass missed a scheduled news briefing.
The next time the two stood together at a press conference, tensions were evident, despite pledges that they were on the same page.
Bass’ move this week comes after weeks of criticism levelled at her.
The former US congresswoman has frequently been the target of residents' ire in recent weeks after a flat-footed response to the fires, which broke out while she was in Ghana.
Ahead of the January 7 outbreaks, the National Weather Service had been warning that fierce winds and exceedingly dry weather would leave the Los Angeles region at very high risk of a fire.
Helicopters were seen dropping water on the Palisades fire near the Sullivan Canyon area of Los Angeles. Photo / Getty Images
State and local officials announced they were pre-positioning resources to pounce and try to keep a handle on any blazes, which they expected would spread rapidly in 160km/h winds.
Local and national media extensively carried warnings of the elevated danger.
But at a press conference this week, Bass framed her decision to press ahead with her foreign trip as the result of Crowley’s failure to warn her of the risk.
“What has happened in the two-plus years I’ve been here every time there was a weather emergency, or even a hint of a weather emergency, the chief has called me directly,” Bass told reporters.
“She has my cell phone. She knows she can call me 24/7, and she briefed me, and then we would talk about what needed to happen next. That did not happen this time.”
