Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass canceled a scheduled public appearance at the last minute in the wake of a damning report accusing her of secretly watering down details of the official Palisades fire response.
The embattled mayor was due to attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a permanent housing development for the homeless in the San Fernando Valley Friday morning — but her office told members of the media late Thursday night that she was bailing.
“Unfortunately, Mayor Bass is no longer able to attend this event,” an email from her press office stated, without elaborating.
Bass’s office did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment about the cancellation.
The mayor is accused of altering an after-action report to downplay the failures made by the city and fire department during the deadly Palisades fire, the Los Angeles Times reported.
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She reportedly reviewed early drafts of the after-action report and demanded key findings of the Los Angeles Fire Department’s shortcomings edited out.
The Democrat warned then-interim Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva the unrevised findings could expose the city to legal liability, the Times reported.
Bass was warned that the tweaks were a “bad idea” that could ruin her political career — but still decided to put out her own version of the report instead, sources told the Times.
The mayor has denied making any changes to the official review.
The final after-action report concluded that leaders went “above and beyond” in their duties — after 16,000 homes and structures were destroyed and 12 people died, with damages estimated to cost $150 billion.
The bombshell accusations sparked calls for an investigation from US Senator Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who said the allegedly doctored report appears to be “fraud to cover-up a disaster.”
“If @MayorOfLA altered this report to cover up the truth in any way, people deserve to know. I sure hope there’s no obstruction of justice here, but for the sake of the victims who’ve gone a year with no answers, it’s worth looking into,” Scott posted on X, tagging Attorney General Pam Bondi.
“Grateful the administration is launching a task force to expose waste, fraud, and abuse in California and around the country,” he added.
“Mayor Bass has been unequivocal for months — she reviewed an early draft of the report and only asked the LAFD to make sure it was accurate on issues like weather and budget,” her office insisted.
