Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass denied rebuffing an offer by the FDNY to help try to contain the area’s deadly fires — even though California officials have said they don’t have enough firefighters themselves.
New York City fire Commissioner Robert Tucker made the helpful overture to the embattled Bass in recent days, as five blazes rage around Los Angeles and its suburbs, killing at least 10 people and destroying thousands of homes and businesses, sources told The Post Friday.
JetBlue even offered to pay for the city smoke-eaters’ flights across the country from the Big Apple to Los Angeles, sources said.
Overwhelmed crews watch the Kenneth Fire burn in LA on Thursday. AP
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (with California Gov. Gavin Newsom in cap) survey some of the devastation from the Palisades Fire on Wednesday. MediaNews Group via Getty ImagesBut the offers apparently fell on deaf ears, as no orders have been issued to send New York City crews out West, sources said.
Meanwhile, California Gov. Gavin Newsom accepted help from Mexico, thanking its president, Claudia Sheinbaum, on Friday for the assist, while extra firefighters from Colorado, New Mexico and Utah flocked to the state to help Thursday.
A source speculated that Bass may have balked at taking Bravest help because fighting wildfires is “a whole different beast” that requires special training, as opposed to putting out blazes in buildings, which is typical fare for the FDNY.
But the apparent refusal still stunned some department observers — given how Los Angeles Fire Chief Anthony Marrone acknowledged Wednesday that his forces were fighting a losing battle when it came to enough staffing to thwart the blazes.
“LA County and all 29 fire departments in our county are not prepared for this kind of widespread disaster,’’ Marrone said.
The Palisades Fire has been one of the ferocious ravaging the area. AFP via Getty ImagesBass later denied the claims.
“This is false, we have never rejected resources — LA welcomes any and all help to fight fires,” Zach Seidl, deputy mayor of communications, told The Post late Friday.
Stay up to date with the NYP’s coverage of the terrifying LA-area fires
- A timeline of the LA Fires — from early weather warnings to rampant blazes
- ‘Extreme’ risk of LA fires spreading, new blazes sparking with return of dangerous 75 mph Santa Ana winds
- Trump anticipates rising death toll in LA wildfires: ‘We’re gonna find many bodies and many more, many more dead’
- Deadly Palisades Fire set ‘maliciously’ by Florida firebug Jonathan Rinderknecht, feds say
The three fires still burning in LA as of Tuesday — Hurst, Palisades and Eaton — and the acreage they have burned. New York Post“There are not enough firefighters in LA County to address four separate fires of this magnitude,” he said at a time there were four blazes raging.
“The LA County fire department was prepared for one or two major brush fires, but not four, especially given these sustained winds and low humidities,” Marrone said.
The city also acknowledged in the middle of the week that it ran out of water from its hydrants while fighting the horrific Palisades Fire that day, thanks to reported mismanagement of its supply and operational issues.
Bass, who was in Ghana when the blazes erupted, has been blasted for cutting funding to the fire department by $18 million months earlier.
