Photos posted on social media show Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass attending a cocktail party at the residence of the US ambassador to Ghana on January 7, the day the Palisades fire exploded.
Basu was in Ghana as part of the Biden administration delegation to attend the inauguration of Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama. Following the inauguration, a gathering of delegates was held at the U.S. Ambassador’s residence in Accra, Ghana.
Mr. Basu had left Los Angeles days before Mr. Mahama’s inauguration as the National Weather Service had increased warnings about the coming storm. She returned to Los Angeles on January 8, more than 24 hours after the fire broke out. Her decision to leave the city and the timing of her return amid weather warnings have come under intense scrutiny in recent days, prompting outrage and national media coverage.
In the days since the fire broke out, Bass has been criticized by former mayoral opponent Rick Caruso and others for his early absence. Pod Save America host Tommy Vieter wrote of X’s “inexplicable decision not to come back sooner,” while Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel, who endorsed Bass in the 2022 mayoral race, said: . I told Puck, “If it is true that he left the country on Saturday after the warning was issued, it is a dereliction of duty.”
Bass appears to have been photographed at a party that Tuesday night, just before 8pm Ghana time or 12pm Los Angeles time. According to the photo Your personal watch will be posted on social media where it will be visible. Minutes later, an evacuation order was issued for the Palisades.
The photo was posted to Instagram and LinkedIn by Marissa Bowman, a city employee who was not part of the official delegation.
Bass spokesman Zach Seidl said, referring to the military plane Bass took from Accra to Washington, D.C., before boarding a commercial flight to Los Angeles. I received great hospitality.” “Most of the time, the mayor was in another room on a call from Los Angeles.”
Seidl said the delegation departed the ambassador’s residence between 8:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. local time and headed directly to the military base’s tarmac, with the mayor saying, “By 9:00 p.m., a military plane will fly to Los Angeles. “I was on my way back to the city,” he said. ”
That would mean her departure from the party would be between 12pm and 12:30pm Los Angeles time last Tuesday.
The bus arrived in Los Angeles around 11 a.m. Wednesday.
other photos The post, posted by Bowman and Ghanaian host Nathaniel Attoh, shows Bass smiling, posing and chatting with attendees. Bowman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
City Crisis Management Division warned Angelenos said on social media about the 11:22 a.m. fire on Jan. 7 that the Los Angeles Fire Department is “currently dealing with a rapidly progressing wildfire situation in the Palisades Hills area,” which has already grown to over 10 acres. I wrote to X. Warn residents to avoid the area.
Pacific Coast Highway was partially closed at Topanga Canyon Boulevard by 11:30 a.m. that day due to the fire. According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
By noon that day, thick smoke had settled in. I saw it From all over the city. The city issued an evacuation order at 12:07 p.m.
Staff writer Laura Nelson contributed reporting.
