LAist gets LA mayor’s already released fire-related texts — still waits on more records

While Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’ team released text messages about the January wildfires days ago to the Los Angeles Times, NBC Los Angeles and ABC7 Eyewitness News, a request filed Jan. 15 by LAist remains outstanding. After repeated follow-up inquiries, the mayor’s office did release records sent earlier to other media outlets.

The backstory

Bass was in Ghana when the January fires erupted, as a member of a federal delegation for the inauguration of the country’s new president. Her journey home would take 24 hours, during which the city and region experienced the most devastating firestorm in the L.A.’s history. In all, 30 people died in the Palisades and Eaton fires, 12 in the city of L.A. Thousands of homes and buildings were destroyed.

Here’s where things stand

Bass’ team initially said they needed until May 1 to respond to LAist’s records request, which went beyond the scope of texts released to the L.A. Times and other news organizations.

LAist originally requested the following texts and other communication:

• Text messages sent and received from the city cellphone(s) issued to Mayor Karen Bass, from Jan. 1, 2025, to Jan.  8, 2025, containing any of the following words and phrases in their body text: red flag warning, strong winds, winds, fire, Pacific Palisades, Pacific Palisades Fire, Eaton Fire, Pasadena, Altadena, response and Hurst Fire.
• Emails sent and received by Mayor Karen Bass from Jan. 1, 2025, to Jan. 8, 2025, containing any of the following words and phrases in their body text: red flag warning, strong winds, winds, fire, Pacific Palisades, Pacific Palisades Fire, Eaton Fire, Pasadena, Altadena, response and Hurst Fire.
• Email communications between Mayor Karen Bass and LAFD Fire Chief Kristin Crowley from Jan. 1, 2025 to Jan. 8, 2025.

LAist is still waiting for this request to be fulfilled.

Following the release of text messages to other media organizations, LAist requested to review the available records.

Bass’ team did not respond to an LAist email asking to review the records already released and for an explanation for the delay. LAist obtained the records after calling Bass’ spokesperson for comment on a story reporting on the delay.

David Loy with the First Amendment Coalition said Bass’ office has “no basis to withhold” records already released to other outlets.

“Once a public agency releases public records to one requester, voluntarily and intentionally, it is required to release the same records to anyone else who requests them,” he said.

Bass’ office could have simply made a mix up or overlooked sending the records to LAist, he said, but “ if a public agency is playing favorites, that is a serious problem under the Public Records Act, because they're obligated under the law. ... If they release records to one, they must release records to all.”

Asked about the disparity, Bass’ office said that LAist should have called the communications team for the records, even though the procedure for prior requests was followed.

Note: The L.A. Times reported that officials initially said Bass’ text message records around fire response no longer existed because those messages auto-deleted after 30 days. Then the mayor’s team said they were able to use “specialized technology” to recover the messages that were released to the Times.

Here are some notable exchanges in the texts:

• The fires began Jan 7. That morning, forecasters had issued a rare warning about damaging, life threatening winds. In the text exchanges released from that day, as of 10:30 a.m., there was no discussion about wind danger prior to the start of the Palisades Fire. Before Bass was alerted to the first fires starting, she had been in communication with her team with a request to send flowers to Monica Rodriguez, presumably the L.A. City Council member. 
• Councilmember Bob Blumenfield told Bass in one text that he had “a warehouse full of supplies outside of regular channels that we maintain year round for emergencies and am providing shelters etc — long story, but literal tons of supplies.” Bass did not reply.
• “KYY,” presumably Los Angeles Councilmember Katy Young Yaroslavsky, told Bass that “Traci and my sense is that we don’t have nearly enough bodies on the ground helping folks get out and/or around. If national guard is an option it would probably be really helpful.” Traci Park serves on the Los Angeles City Council; her district includes the Palisades. Bass did not reply.
• Other texts show Bass first learned of the Palisades Fire from her deputy chief of staff, Celine Cordero, while attending a party at the U.S. Embassy in Ghana. Following the party, texts show a concerned Bass rushing home — a journey that would take around 24 hours — while trying to lead from afar as she dealt with communication interruptions. She would also be inundated by texts from city, state and federal leaders offering their support. 
• Cordero texted Bass — not even 24 hours after the Palisades Fire broke out — that fire crews were “essentially in life-saving mode, and structures are a secondary concern at this point.” At that point, Cordero said there were “multiple civilian victims injured (# TBD)” and “unofficial estimate is 200 homes burned.”

About the records LAist is still waiting for

Loy said the California Public Records Act “does not impose any particular record retention requirements on public agencies. It simply says agencies must disclose what they have in their possession at the time of the request.”

However, he said, the city’s administrative code requires records to be preserved for a minimum of two years.

“ This particular provision of Los Angeles administrative code, I believe, does apply to things like emails and texts of the mayor,” he said. “And so if the mayor was auto-deleting text messages that pertain to public business and not retaining them for up to two years as required by the city's own administrative code, that could be a significant problem.”

LAist also has reached out to City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto’s office for comment.