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Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass drew the ire of California wildfires victims Friday after suggesting during a meeting with President Trump that residents will be allowed to start rebuilding “right away” – when they haven’t even been allowed to see the devastation up close yet.
“No, that will not be the case,” Bass responded, when told by the president that he’s heard it will be 18 months before Pacific Palisades residents that lost their homes can start rebuilding.
Bass, 71, claimed that fire-affected homeowners “really shouldn’t have to go through much of a process” once city and county officials clear the hazardous material left on home lots.
The mayor’s suggestion that the process was being fast-tracked was met by disbelief and confusion from several homeowners in the back of the room of the Pacific Palisades fire station where the public meeting took place.
“So, I mean, we were told last night 18 months,” one resident told Bass. “So, if that’s not the answer, Mayor Bass, what is the answer? Because that’s what we were all told last night.”
Bass responded that the city and county are doing “everything we can – slashing regulations, expediting everything, so that people can begin the process right away.”
“You have to clear the lots. You guys are in charge!” another resident shouted at Bass.
“We were told last night by the Army Corps of Engineers that it’d be 18 months. Is it not 18 months?” a third resident asked the mayor. “That’s the answer that we got and that’s what we’re all hanging on.”
The exasperated man explained that the people in the community are desperate for a clear answer, noting that how long they decide to rent out other homes and other important arrangements are dependent on the timeline for rebuilding that they get from local officials.
“So if you’re telling us now faster, is it six months?” he asked Bass.
Before the mayor could respond Trump chimed in that six months “is no good.”
“We’re concerned right now over the weekend because of the potential rain, but we are going to move as fast as we can,” Bass said. “But we want you to be safe, and we want you to be back in your homes immediately.”
Trump argued that the upset homeowners in the back appeared ready to begin work “tonight.”
“He doesn’t want to wait around for seven months,” the president said of the man probing Bass for clarity.
Bass argued that “if individuals want to clear out their property, they can.”
The remark enraged one woman in the crowd.
“We can’t even get in there without Trump!” she shouted, demanding to know exactly when residents will be allowed back in their neighborhoods.
Hesitantly and in an unsure tone, Bass responded: “We think within a week.”
“We can’t even see our homes right now,” the incredulous woman fired back “We are blocked from entering our street. We can’t even – the first time we saw our house was yesterday.”
Bass, who had been on a trip to Africa when the fires broke out, has seen her approval ratings nose dive in the aftermath of the devastating and deadly blazes.
More than half of the people surveyed in a recent Madison McQueen poll said they disapprove of Bass’ leadership, and the mayor lags behind Democratic rival Rick Caruso by 7 points in a hypothetical mayoral match-up.
