Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced that her brother lost his Malibu home to the ongoing Palisades wildfires, sources say.
Bass, who has faced widespread criticism over the city’s preparedness for the disaster, shared the news during a Zoom meeting with the Pacific Palisades Community Council on Thursday.
“The loss that you’re going through, I share indirectly. It’s hit my family too,” Bass told about 1,000 attendees, per the Los Angeles Times.
“My brother, who has lived in Malibu for 40 years, been through many fires, evacuated many times — this time didn’t get away,” she said.
The Mayor further added that her brother’s house “was my family home where we went on the holidays” and that the loss of the home is “a type of shock and grief that is trauma that will be with us for a long time.”
The Palisades Fire, which ignited on Jan. 7, has burned over 23,000 acres, destroyed more than 900 structures, and claimed 11 lives. As of Friday morning, it is 72% contained, according to Cal Fire.
Meanwhile, the Eaton Fire has scorched 14,000 acres and is 95% contained, while the Hughes Fire, which began on Wednesday, has burned more than 10,000 acres and is 56% contained, Cal Fire reports.
Mayor Karen Bass has faced sharp criticism for traveling abroad despite fire warnings and for her response upon returning. When the Palisades Fire broke out, she was attending a cocktail reception at the U.S. embassy in Ghana as part of a Biden administration delegation for the inauguration of Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama.
On Jan. 2, just days before Bass departed, the National Weather Service had warned of “extreme fire weather conditions” due to strong Santa Ana winds. By Jan. 7, fires had erupted, prompting evacuation orders. According to the Los Angeles Times, Bass was photographed at the event in Ghana around 8 p.m. local time—midday in Los Angeles.
Adding to the controversy, it was revealed that last month, the Los Angeles Fire Department chief warned Bass that an $18 million budget cut had caused “unprecedented operational challenges,” potentially hindering wildfire response. The budget reductions were approved under Bass’s leadership, though she has denied they affected the city’s ability to respond. She has stated that a full assessment of the response will take place at a later date.