Los Angeles Fire Chief Christine Crowley said that the city administration has abandoned firefighters as fires continue to ravage the city, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.
Crowley complained on CNN that a $17 million budget cut to the fire department was negatively impacting its ability to perform its duties.
“We can no longer maintain the situation. We don't have enough firefighters“, she said. Crowley said she has repeatedly tried to show city authorities “the fire department is understaffed, underfunded and underfunded“.
The department has seen a 55% increase in calls since 2010. since, Crowley said, but the number of firefighters is decreasing.
„The additional resources that are coming in will help us with this disaster. But in the future, we must be fully funded and supported,“ she added.
At least 11 people have died in the major fires that have swept the Los Angeles area in recent days, the city's medical examiner's office said.
Several evacuation alerts sent by mistake by phone have caused panic and confusion among residents of Los Angeles, which has been devastated by fires, reported Agence France-Presse, quoted by BTA, citing local authorities.
"There is a lot of dissatisfaction, anger and fear about the messages sent by mistake through the online warning system," Kevin McGowan, director of the Los Angeles Crisis Management Office, said at a press conference.
The fires that have been raging in Los Angeles since Tuesday have claimed the lives of at least 10 people and forced the evacuation of more than 180 thousand people.
"All the technical specialists are trying to find the cause and solve this problem. I ask that no one deactivate the notifications on their phones (. . .), this is a matter of life and death," McGowan emphasized.