Frank Stoltze
is a veteran reporter who covers local politics and examines how democracy is and, at times, is not working.
Published February 26, 2025 5:00 AM
Water pressure became a big issue as firefighters tried to fight the Palisades Fire.
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David Swanson
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AFP via Getty Images
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Topline:
More than a month before the Palisades Fire, former Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley issued a dire warning: Her department was woefully understaffed, response times were high, equipment was in disrepair and emergency preparedness was suffering. Other reports and analyses appear to support those claims.
Why now: It's not clear whether a better funded Los Angeles Fire Department would have slowed the firestorm that tore through Pacific Palisades. Firefighters faced gale force winds gusts of up to 100 mph when the fire broke out. What is clear is that day-to-day service calls — most of them for medical help — suffer because L.A. has one of the smallest big city fire departments in the country.
Key statistic: The population of the city has grown to more than 3.9 million, from 2.5 million in 1960, but the number of firefighters has not grown proportionately.
Read on ... for details of the reports that say L.A. should build more fire stations and hire more firefighters.
More than a month before the Palisades Fire, then-Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley issued a dire warning: Her department was woefully understaffed, response times were high, equipment was in disrepair and emergency preparedness was suffering.
It's not clear whether a better funded agency would have slowed the firestorm. Firefighters faced gale force winds of up to 100 mph when the fire broke out.
What is clear is that day-to-day service calls — most of them for medical help — suffer because L.A. has one of the smallest big city fire departments in the country.
“In many ways, the current staffing, deployment model and size of the LAFD has not changed since the 1960s,” Crowley wrote in a November memo to the Board of Fire Commissioners.
The population of the city has grown to more than 3.9 million, from 2.5 million in 1960, but the number of firefighters has not grown proportionately.
Crowley has since been fired by Mayor Karen Bass, who last Friday cited the chief’s failure to increase the number of on-duty firefighters in the hours before the Palisades Fire and her unwillingness to participate in an evaluation of the department’s response to the disaster.
In a statement after her firing, Crowley did not address the Palisades Fire or the mayor’s accusations directly but said she based her actions “on taking care of our firefighters so that they could take care of our communities.”
But Crowley has not been the only one ringing the alarm that the LAFD is stretched to the limit.
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Before the latest firestorm, LA had been warned that its Fire Department is too small
Reports obtained by LAist through public records requests found rescue ambulances and fire trucks from the department’s 106 stations have scrambled from one call to the next with ever-increasing response times in recent years.
“It's not about one budget. It's not about one mayor. It's about decades of neglect of the LAFD,” said Freddy Escobar, president of United Firefighters of Los Angeles. “The 911 caller is going to pay the ultimate sacrifice because we don’t have the resources.”
Kristin Crowley was removed from her position as LAFD chief last week, but she plans to remain with the department.
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Myung J. Chun
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Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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Longer response times
L.A. has just under one firefighter per 1,000 residents. Since 1986, the average number of firefighters in densely populated cities across the country ranged from 1.54 to 1.81 per 1,000, according to the National Fire Protection Association.
As calls for service have increased, so have response times. The overall response time for 90% of calls jumped more than a minute, to 7 minutes and 53 seconds, from 2018 to 2022, according to a 2024 Standards of Cover analysis by the International Association of Firefighters. The IAFF is a labor union of firefighters that also provides analysis of fire operations to local fire departments.
The National Fire Protection Association recommends a 4-minute standard.
Response times are especially complicated in L.A., according to a separate 2023 Standards of Cover report by Citygate Associates. Citygate is a consulting firm that evaluates fire departments across the country.
The challenges include a “hilly topography in some areas, and a public road pattern that, in certain areas, is geographically challenged with rivers, open spaces, and/or a lack of major cross-connecting roadways,” according to the report.
As areas continue to redevelop and add population, the department will need adjustments “just to maintain, much less improve, response times,” the report reads.
Medical calls dominate resources
L.A’s Fire Department responds to more than 500,000 calls for service per year. More than 80% are calls from people who need medical help. The department takes more than 600 people to hospitals every day. It treats hundreds more people on scene, and many of them are unhoused.
The LAFD responds to more than 66,000 calls per year related to the city’s unhoused population, according to the department.
“If we were a hospital, we would have the largest emergency room in the country,” Battalion Chief Eric Roberts said in an interview.
According to the Citygate report, fire trucks are too often busy with medical calls, stretching call times for fires and other calls. The consulting firm recommends expanding the use of lightweight pickup trucks to respond to less serious medical calls and small fires. They’re called fast response vehicles, and the LAFD has three of them.
“The alternative response program needs to scale massively and quickly to lower the workload placed on fire units back down to moderate and serious emergencies,” the Citygate report states. “Well over 100 new non-firefighter personnel must be hired and trained for alternative response measures to meet the service needs of the city.”
The report also recommends staffing 12 to 15 new rescue ambulances and building one new fire station — in the northern San Fernando Valley.
The International Association of Firefighters study recommends adding 32 rescue ambulances and 378 firefighters. In addition, the study recommended adding 62 new fire stations.
Neither study placed a cost on their recommendations.
Personnel by the numbers
Over the past five years, the number of sworn and civilian personnel at the department has stayed relatively constant, rising only slightly to 3,877, from 3,831, according to budget documents. But in the latest budget for the fiscal year that started July 1, 2024, the department lost 58 positions from the year before.
In a December report, Crowley recommended adding 438 positions.
“I think it's important for us to look at what resources do we want to grow,” said Councilmember Tim McOsker, who sits on the city’s Public Safety Committee. “If we have new stations, if we have new apparatus, we need to have persons assigned to them.”
Part of the department’s short staffing problem dates to the 2008 recession, when city tax revenue plummeted. The department lost more than 10% of its positions and mothballed fire trucks.
“We reduced our resources in a way that we have not fully recovered from,” Roberts said.
McOsker agreed.
“Over a number of years — many, many years — we have not put enough money into the Fire Department,” McOsker said, adding that the Palisades Fire has increased urgency. The councilmember, whose District 15 includes San Pedro, Wilmington and Watts, said he thinks “everyone in the city recognizes that it's important to have adequate fire services.”
Calls for increased funding for the Fire Department come as the city faces budget problems. Four months into the fiscal year that began July 1, the city had already overspent its budget by nearly $300 million, according to the city administrative officer.
“We might have to shrink in other areas,” McOsker said.
Councilmember Traci Park, whose District 11 includes the Pacific Palisades, said the city will have to make some hard decisions.
“We can’t keep investing in and doubling down on programs that aren’t getting us results,” Park said. “And I feel like homelessness is a good example of that.”
The question is whether reducing spending on homelessness would increase the burden on the Fire Department.
More from Crowley
Crowley, who has elected to stay with the department in a lower rank, decried the loss of civilian staff and overtime variable staffing hours, warning the reduction has “severely limited the department’s capacity to prepare for, train for, and respond to large scale emergencies.”
As the Palisades Fire was burning, Crowley said $17 million in cuts to her department in last year’s budget hampered the department’s response — in part because there are not enough mechanics to fix broken fire trucks.
A spokesperson for Mayor Karen Bass said the signing of a labor contract that boosted salaries for firefighters and the funding of new equipment resulted in a net increase in funding for the department of $110 million. But Crowley said it still wasn’t enough.
“We are screaming to be properly funded,” Crowley, the first woman and first gay person to lead the department, told a T.V. station during the first few days of the fire.
In that December report, she requested 438 new sworn and civilian positions for her department as part of a 7.6% increase in her operating budget.
Park, meanwhile, is seeking to place a bond measure on next year’s ballot that would increase funding for the Fire Department.
The councilmember’s proposal has been referred to the City Council’s Rules Committee.
LAist Senior Reporter Ted Rohrlich contributed to this report.
Mariana Dale
is proud of her distant Norwegian heritage and excited to cheer on the team in the quarter-final.
Published July 8, 2026 5:12 PM
Fans cheer during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Brazil and Norway in East Rutherford, N.J.
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Pamela Smith
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AP
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Topline:
Norway’s historic World Cup performance has brought together Southern California’s relatively small, but spirited Norwegian community.
Why now: They’ve been packing into a San Pedro Church, a Westside Irish bar and have taught people to row like a Viking at watch parties throughout the region, after Norway qualified this year for the World Cup for the first time since 1998.
Norwegian pride: Vilde Vevatne, who was born and raised in Oslo but now lives in L.A., said she’s proud of the team’s performance on the pitch but also their attitude outside of the matches. “ How kind and humble the team are being. … They're not bragging unnecessarily,” Vevatne said. “They're genuinely just excited to be there. They're doing their best job and not thinking they're better than anyone else.”
What's next: Saturday’s quarterfinal game between Norway and England in Miami is scheduled to start at 2 p.m.
Norway’s historic World Cup performance has brought together Southern California’s relatively small, but spirited Norwegian community.
They’ve been packing into a San Pedro Church, a Westside Irish bar and have taught people to row like a Viking at watch parties throughout the region, after Norway qualified this year for the World Cup for the first time since 1998.
Several Norway soccer watch parties, including the one at Joxer Daly's in Culver City, promise waffles.
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Courtesy Elise Maeland
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“This whole experience also just reminded me of why I'm proud of being Norwegian and all of these values that the society and my parents instilled upon me from a young age,” said Vilde Vevatne, who was born and raised in Oslo, but now lives in L.A.
She’s proud of the team’s performance on the pitch, but also their attitude outside of the matches.
“ How kind and humble the team are being … They're not bragging unnecessarily,” Vevatne said. “They're genuinely just excited to be there. They're doing their best job and not thinking they're better than anyone else.”
Vevatne says it’s the embodiment of the Law of Jante.
“That's like an unwritten rule in Norwegian culture where we're taught from a young age ‘Don't think you're special. Don't think you're better than everyone else,’” Vevatne said. “Just be part of the pack and just be a nice, genuine person."
Norway's Erling Haaland has scored seven goals in the World Cup as of July 8. “ I think he has just exploded as a superstar coming out of the game,” said Erik Steigen.
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Image Photo Agency
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Getty Images
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And now SoCal’s Nordic community has an open invitation for anyone looking for a team to support during the quarter-finals.
Row with us. (The practice of imitating a Viking longboat of warriors rowing into battle started within the last year, but quickly became a viral phenomenon.)
“ We're a small country. We need every fan we can have,” said Petter Isaksen, who helped organize the watch parties at the Norwegian Seaman’s Church in San Pedro.
“Now there are almost no Norwegian sailors left, but there's still a lot of Norwegians in L.A. and in SoCal,” Isaksen, who works as a host at the church, said. “We're there for them as a church and as a cultural center,”
The church hosts groups for toddlers, knitting and Norwegian language classes in addition to a Sunday Lutheran service that welcomes all faiths.
And five days a week, there are waffles for sale— always heart-shaped and with your choice of goat cheese, jam or sour cream.
“We can eat several,” Isaksen said.
The Seaman's Church in San Pedro has long been a gathering place for Southern California Norwegians and has hosted watch parties since the World Cup qualifying matches.
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Courtesy Petter Isaksen
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Isaksen has followed Norway’s football team “since I was born,” and started organizing the watch parties at the church during the qualifying matches.
He said dozens of people, including several new to the church, have attended each watch party for communal singing, waffle-eating and rowing.
“Everyone, whether they're, like, 12 weeks or 99-years-old, they're in on it,” Isaksen said. “It's so much fun, and it brings so much togetherness.”
Cathrine Chiaro, left, and Petter Isaksen, right, both work at the Norwegian Seaman's Church in San Pedro.
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Courtesy Petter Isaksen
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‘Where are all the Norwegians at?’
A Culver City Irish sports bar has become another bastion of Norwegian pride during the World Cup thanks to Erik Steigen.
When he first moved to Los Angeles 30 years ago to work in the music industry, he didn’t prioritize seeking out his countrymen.
“I'm not moving to the US… to hang out with Norwegians and eat lutefisk,” Steigen said, referencing the divisive dried, lye-soaked fish. “I'm here to try to build a career and pursue my own dreams.”
But that changed about a decade ago.
Petter Wichman, right, and his son Erik, left. During the knockout game against Brazil, they lead the whole bar in a session of rowing, despite the fact that most people were cheering for their opponents.
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Courtesy of Petter Wichman
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“I started wondering, ‘Where are all the Norwegians at?’” Steigen said. He joined the board of the Seaman’s Church in San Pedro and today helps organize events through Peer Gynt LA, a cultural group that evolved from an early 20th century chapter of the Sons of Norway lodge.
“When you're from a different country — I've spent most of my life in the U.S. now — I think you become extra patriotic about your native country,” Steigen said.
So why organize a watch party at an Irish sports bar?
Steigen is a lifelong soccer fan, but when he first arrived in the U.S., the national team’s games didn’t broadcast in the states. So he adopted the Liverpool Football Club and often catches the games at Joxer Daly's in Culver City.
When people asked him where to watch Norway play, he defaulted to his home bar.
Steigen wasn’t sure if anyone would show up to watch Norway take on Iraq in their first match, but dozens did — and Norway won 4-1.
“ It's amazing how many Norwegians really exist in L.A. that you've never heard of,” Steigen said.
From left, Erik Steigen, Finn "The Viking" Orvin and Henning Gabrielsen are among the many Norway fans that have watched the matches at Joxer Daly's in Culver City.
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Courtesy Erik Steigen
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Elise Maeland, has attended several of the matches at Joxer Daly’s.
She’s made a handful of Norwegian friends since moving to Southern California more than a decade ago for grad school, but outside of May 17, Norway’s Constitution Day, she said there are few large Norwegian gatherings.
“I feel like that was what was really cool about the World Cup is that it really brought Norwegians together in L.A.,” Maeland said.
She hasn’t decided whether she’ll watch Saturday’s quarter-final at Joxer Daly’s or join a larger watch party in Venice Beach.
“ I'll go where the most Norwegians go,” Maeland said.
Where to watch the game
Saturday’s quarter-final game between Norway and England in Miami is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. local time.
The Seaman’s Church / Sjømannskirken
Address:1035 South Beacon St. San Pedro Watch party: 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. More information:Website, Facebook Good to know: This family friendly watch party promises waffles, hot dogs, popcorn and a bouncy castle for the kids. In addition to Sunday services, the church also runs a Norwegian goods shop — and sells waffles — Wednesday through Sunday.
Joxer Daly's
Address:11168 Washington Blvd. Culver City Watch party: noon - until the match is over. More information:Facebook, Peer Gynt LA website (organizers) Good to know: There will be waffles starting at noon and organizer Erik Steigen recommends arriving early to snag a seat.
Los Angeles World Cup 26 Fan Zone at Venice Beach
Address:1 Windward Ave Watch party: noon - 10 p.m. More information:Website, Facebook Good to know: This event has both free and premium tickets that include a reserved viewing area, food and drinks.
Makenna Cramer
covers the daily drumbeat of Southern California — events, processes and nuances making it a unique place to call home.
Published July 8, 2026 4:50 PM
People standing in line at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX.
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Yusra Farzan
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LAist
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Topline:
L.A. County has confirmed another case of measles in a traveler passing through LAX and at least one other public place July 3, public health officials announced Wednesday. They’re urging people to take precautions against the highly contagious virus.
What you should know: According to the L.A. County Department of Public Health, the infected traveler arrived on British Airways Flight 281 at Gate 155 in the Tom Bradley International Terminal B on July 3. People who were at the gate between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. may have been exposed.
Potential exposure extended to an LAX Hertz Car Rental Shuttle the same day, as well as a healthcare facility. Anyone at the shuttle from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. may be at risk of getting measles. Public health officials did not share dates, times or other details from the affected healthcare facility.
What if I was on the flight? Passengers who were sitting near the traveler will be notified by their local health departments. The CDC and local departments regularly work together for these kinds of exposures on international flights, according to L.A. County officials.
What if I was exposed elsewhere? People who were at the rental shuttle during that time period could be at risk of developing measles. The healthcare facility is directly reaching out to patients and staff, and the Department of Public Health said it's looking into any other potential exposure locations in L.A. County.
What to watch out for: Symptoms including a fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes and a rash can show up a week to three weeks after exposure. Public health officials emphasized that if you start to show these symptoms, don't just walk into a healthcare center without calling ahead first.
The last day to monitor for symptoms from the airport terminal and rental shuttle is July 24.
How to help protect yourself: The best way to protect yourself and your family is with the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine — so double-check your medical records. You can find more measles information from L.A. County here.
If you're enjoying this article, you'll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less.
Cato Hernández
scours through tons of archives to understand how our region became the way it is today.
Published July 8, 2026 4:23 PM
The sterile moquitoes will be released over 16 weeks.
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Courtesy San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District
)
Topline:
The San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District is releasing more than 480,000 mosquitoes over the next few months in an attempt to squash the local mosquito population.
Why now: Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are the culprits behind all those ankle bites. The peak of the season starts in August for the valley, lasting all the way to October (and sometimes even longer).
How it works: The district is releasing only non-biting sterile male mosquitoes. When they mate, the females don’t produce viable offspring, which will hopefully thwart the season's peak. It's a technique that's been used to some success by Riverside County.
Where is this happening? They'll be released into the unincorporated area of Basset, near Baldwin Park, which has historically seen high mosquito activity.
Read on … to learn about what you can expect.
The San Gabriel Valley is heading into peak mosquito season. If a new program goes well, there'll be even more of the pesky fliers than normal — and that's a good thing.
The San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District is releasing more than 480,000 mosquitoes over the next few months, with an aim to squash the invasive ankle-biters known as Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.
What’s happening
The San Gabriel Valley is one of the L.A. County areas that regularly get a lot of mosquitoes, but every season can be different. As well as being a major outdoor annoyance, Aedes aegypti is the primary carrier of dengue, and while local transmission is historically very low, the species is tough to kill off because their eggs can survive in tiny amounts of water.
That’s why the district is using a technique that introduces sterile insects into the mix. The mosquitoes they’re releasing between now and October are males that carry Wolbachia, a naturally occurring bacteria that makes them unable to have offspring with wild females.
Male mosquitoes don’t bite, so while residents may see more of them, they won’t leave a trail of those itchy bumps.
It’s a technique that’s been used elsewhere in SoCal, including San Bernardino County, with some success.
(Courtesy the San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District)
They’re going to the unincorporated community of Basset, just south of Baldwin Park, because it historically sees more activity. The area averaged more mosquitoes per trap than the district’s service area between 2020 and 2025, according to Anais Medina Diaz, communications director for the district.
Over 16 weeks, these urban bloodsuckers will be released from cardboard tubes in a 25-acre area between the intersections of East Temple Avenue, Millbury Avenue, Moccasin Street and Vineland Avenue.
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Courtesy the San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District
)
They likely won’t travel much farther beyond that. Aedes aegypti populations are known for being short-distance flyers, covering about a tenth of a mile in their lifetime.
Why now?
Mosquitoes are becoming a year-around problem for Southern California, but there are still peaks to the season.
For the San Gabriel Valley, Medina Diaz said the higher Aedes activity happens between August and October.
The district’s program is also lasting longer than other programs in L.A. County for a specific reason. They want to increase the chances for sterile males to mate with wild females, which can live up to two months, according to the district.
By stopping new female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes from being born, Medina Diaz said they hope residents won’t have to deal with as many bites.
Americans have a new way to invest in their kids' futures: Trump Accounts launched over the weekend. Congress approved them last year as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Who qualifies: If you have a child born between 2025 and the end of 2028, financial advisors say signing up for a Trump Account should be a simple decision for one reason: The child's account will automatically get a $1,000 seed contribution from the federal government. The money in these accounts will be invested in an index fund that broadly tracks the stock market. Any American citizen under age 18 can have an account, and once they turn 18, they can access that money for things like education or buying a house.
Kids born before that window aren't completely out of luck: Millions of children under age 11 will still get $250. That comes from more than $6.25 billion donated by Michael and Susan Dell of Dell Technologies. That money will only go to children who don't qualify for the federal contribution. To qualify, their families must also live in zip codes where the median family income is under $150,000.
Read on... for other things to consider when planning to save for your children.
Americans have a new way to invest in their kids' futures: Trump Accounts launched over the weekend. Congress approved them last year as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Republicans' tax and spending law. They function similarly to retirement accounts, but instead of being for adults preparing for their senior years, they're for assisting kids with the start of their adult lives.
The money in these accounts will be invested in an index fund that broadly tracks the stock market. Any American citizen under age 18 can have an account, and once they turn 18, they can access that money for things like education or buying a house. (The money can also be used for other purchases, but that comes with a tax penalty.)
The accounts function as a kind of digital "donation bucket" that many people can contribute to — kids' families, but also philanthropists, their parents' employers, and even the government. Contributions from family and other adults in the children's lives are made in after-tax dollars; contributions from others, such as employers or the government, are pre-tax. The child will only pay tax on the investment's growth once they withdraw the funding.
But there are already plenty of other options for parents to invest in, from education saving plans to their own retirement accounts. So should you sign up your family for Trump accounts? Here are four things to consider.
Your child could get free money from the federal government
If you have a child born between 2025 and the end of 2028, financial advisors say signing up for a Trump Account should be a simple decision for one reason: The child's account will automatically get a $1,000 seed contribution from the federal government.
Financial planner Michael Reynolds with Indiana's Elevation Financial did the math for Morning Edition and said that, even without any additional investments, that $1,000 would become almost $4,000 by the time a kid turns 18. (That's assuming an 8% rate of return and doesn't count the income tax that has to be paid on the growth and initial federal contribution.)
Your kid might be eligible for other donations
Kids born before that window are not completely out of luck. Millions of them under age 11 will still get $250. That comes from more than $6.25 billion donated by Michael and Susan Dell of Dell Technologies.
That money will only go to children who don't qualify for the federal contribution. To qualify, their families must also live in zip codes where the median family income is under $150,000.
And if your children don't qualify for the Dell donation, there are other options that could come your way.
Some companies are also offering contributions, like the memory chip maker Micron. It's giving $250 to up to a million children living near some of its worksites in states like Minnesota, California and New York, as a way to support the local workforce and community. Micron will also match employee donations to their own children's accounts, up to $1,000 per kid.
Other companies, including Mastercard, Uber and Visa, are also offering matches to employees.
That includes some small businesses, too. "We're going to try it out," said Luke Delorme, co-owner and director of financial planning at the finance firm Tableaux Wealth. "Maybe it'll fit into their financial picture in the future in some meaningful way."
Consider your own retirement funding first
Parents should also prioritize their own retirement before putting money away for their kids' retirement, said Carrie Joy Grimes, CEO of the nonprofit personal finance company WorkMoney.
She suggests parents max out their own retirement accounts before other options, "because what happens is we put money into our kids' stuff, and then we end up needing help in retirement — and that is a way worse financial stress on our kids."
Your kids may also benefit from a 529 education plan
Parents can already choose to invest for their children's futures through 529 savings plans. As with Trump accounts, family members can contribute to these plans with post-tax dollars.But there are differences. First, 529 plans allow kids to withdraw the money tax-free. And second, that money can only be used for education.
Parents can opt for both. Financial advisors say how families can benefit from Trump Accounts will depend on their financial situation. For wealthier families with parents who can already afford to max out their retirement accounts and put aside money in a 529, Trump Accounts are essentially an extra tax benefit for their kids.
Ray Boshara, a senior policy advisor at the Aspen Institute, says that lower-income families will primarily benefit from having that digital donation bucket that can accrue contributions for their kids. Those children might be able to start their adult lives with thousands of dollars they otherwise wouldn't have had.
"These accounts will be transformative for them," Boshara says.
Note: Dell Technologies is a financial supporter of NPR.
