Embattled Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is once again at the center of controversy after social media photos showed that she was at a cocktail party in Ghana as the Palisades Fire exploded. Bass was in the African nation as part of a delegation sent by the Biden administration for the inauguration of Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama, the Los Angeles Times reported on Tuesday.
Bass appeared to be posing for photos just before 8:00 p.m. local time, which was 12 p.m. in Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles Times. Moments later, evacuation orders were issued due to the Palisades Fire.
“The presidential delegation was hosted by the United States ambassador to Ghana on the way to the plane,” said Bass spokesperson Zach Seidl said, according to the LA Times. “For the majority of the time, the mayor was in a different room on calls from LA.”
A spokesperson for the US ambassador to Ghana told the LA Times that Mahama held the reception for the American delegation before they were set to return to the United States on a military plane.
EX-OBAMA STAFFER AND LIBERAL PODCASTER SLAMS LA MAYOR FOR BEING OVERSEAS DURING WILDFIRES
On Jan. 2, days before Bass left for Ghana, the National Weather Service warned of the potential for “extreme fire weather conditions” due to the Santa Ana winds. Just days later, the Palisades were burning, and residents were ordered to evacuate.
In an email to Fox News on Wednesday, Seidl said that “the mayor already said yesterday that looking back, she would not have taken this trip. The mayor was on a military plane coming back an hour later.”
As the wildfires continue, southern California remains under a “particularly dangerous situation” warning from the National Weather Service. New fires have erupted, but firefighters have been able to contain them.
Bass has faced scrutiny for traveling abroad despite the fire warnings and for her response after returning. A petition demanding her resignation garnered more than 142,000 signatures at the time of this report.
“Water supplies have been severely strained, billions of taxpayer dollars have been misallocated or left unaccounted for, and countless lives have been lost,” the petition reads.
Celebrities, including Sarah Michelle Gellar, Patricia Heaton and Jillian Michaels, have called for accountability from Bass, Gov. Gavin Newsom, and California state leadership.
ZACHARY LEVI BLAMES ‘INCREDIBLY POOR’ LEADERSHIP FOR LA WILDFIRES, SUGGESTS ‘CRIMINAL NEGLIGENCE’ AT PLAY
Los Angeles residents have been grappling with the devastating wildfires for more than a week. As of Wednesday morning, at least 24 people have been confirmed dead, though that number is expected to rise, according to officials. Additionally, dozens are missing.
Per Cal Fire, more than 12,300 homes, schools and businesses have been destroyed in the inferno.
In 2021, Bass told the New York Times that she did not plan to travel abroad, saying “the only places I would go would be D.C., Sacramento, San Francisco and New York, in relation to LA.”
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