Embattled LA Mayor Karen Bass enjoyed a cocktail party at the US Embassy in Ghana at the exact moment the devastating Palisades wild fire was erupting, deleted social media posts show.
The Democrat, who has come under intense scrutiny for her response to the fires that have killed at least 24 people and burned over 12,000 buildings, was seen posing alongside other dignitaries at the party on January 7.
According to a delegate’s watch that is visible in the pictures, Bass was posing for selfies just before 8pm Ghanaian time, or just before 12pm in Los Angeles.
The first evacuation orders for the Palisades Fire were issued minutes later, with officials placing the initial ignition time at 10:30am.
She was in the African nation leading a delegation sent by President Biden for the inauguration of John Mahama as the new president of Ghana.
At the post-Presidential Inauguration cocktail party, Bass was seen chatting with ambassadors and smiling for selfies, with King Tackie Tieki Truru II of the Ga Traditional Area in southern Ghana also in attendance.
By the time she left the party for her flight home, huge plumes of smoke had already covered large swaths of Los Angeles, reports the LA Times.
It comes after Bass was slammed for visiting Africa after she promised voters at a campaign rally in 2021 that she would not travel internationally if elected.
Embattled LA Mayor Karen Bass enjoyed a cocktail party at the US Embassy in Ghana when the devastating fires in her city began last week
Bass was in the African nation leading a delegation sent by President Biden for the inauguration of John Mahama as the new president of Ghana, with the images taken at a post-Presidential Inauguration cocktail party
The mayor has come under intense scrutiny for her response to the fires that have killed at least 24 people and burned over 12,000 buildings
Images of the event were shared to social media by Marissa Bowman, a staffer in Bass’ office who was not part of the official White House delegation.
Bass left for Ghana after the National Weather Service issued warnings about conditions which ultimately ended in historic blazes erupting.
She was subsequently condemned for slashing the city’s fire department by millions of dollars before refusing to apologize to residents.
Bass flew to Ghana on January 4 to attend Mahama’s inauguration, the same day that the National Weather Service intensified warnings about windstorms set to batter Los Angeles.
A spokesperson for the mayor told the LA Times that Bass attended the cocktail party as it was hosted by the US Ambassador to Ghana, but she spent most of the party in a separate room making calls, they said.
The delegation then left the party and arrived back on a military plane at 11am on January 8, over 24 hours after the fires had started.
In a statement from Bass’ spokesperson Zach Seidl, the mayor’s office said: ‘The presidential delegation was hosted by the United States ambassador to Ghana on the way to the plane.
‘For the majority of the time, the mayor was in a different room on calls from L.A.’
Bass attended the party after warnings over the fires began, with a spokesperson for her office saying the mayor ‘was in a different room on calls from LA’
A litany of failures by LA city officials have been uncovered since the breakout of the crisis, as fire hydrants were found without any water and electricity to power cables was left on to fuel the flames
Firefighters watch as water is dropped on the Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025
When questioned by reporters upon her return, Bass later claimed at a press conference that ‘although I wasn’t physically here, I was in touch with many of the individuals standing here throughout the entire time.
Ghanaian emcee Nathaniael Attoh, one of the attendees seen in a selfie with Bass, told the LA Times that the cocktail party was a low-key event held to introduce the White House delegation to high-profile Ghanaians.
He said several speakers addressed the party including religious leaders, businesspeople, athletes and diplomats.
Bass was quickly met with criticism after she arrived back in the United States, as city officials slammed her for slashing the Los Angeles Fire Department budget by over $17 million in her latest budget.
A litany of failures by LA city officials have also since been uncovered, as fire hydrants were found without any water and electricity to power cables was left on to fuel the flames.
Upon her return at the airport, Bass suffered a humiliating moment as she was left in stunned silence while being peppered with questions from a Sky News reporter.
‘Do you owe citizens an apology for being absent while their homes were burning?’ they asked.
As the mayor remained stone-faced, the reporter continued: ‘Do you regret cutting the fire department’s budget by millions of dollars, Madam Mayor? Have you nothing to say today?’
Both Bass and California Governor Gavin Newsom have faced intense criticism for their response to the fires as some residents call for them to be booted from office
A Change.org petition demanding Bass’s resignation has reached over 140,000 signatures, ‘due to her gross mismanagement and failure to effectively respond to the devastating 2025 fires in and around the city of Los Angeles’
Still without receiving any answer, the reporter asked once again: ‘Have you absolutely nothing to say to the citizens today? Elon Musk says that you’re utterly incompetent. Are you reconsidering your position?’
The question of Bass resigning has been fueled in recent days, with California Governor Gavin Newsom also facing calls to step aside for the state’s apparent lack of preparedness.
A Change.org petition demanding Bass’s resignation has reached over 140,000 signatures, ‘due to her gross mismanagement and failure to effectively respond to the devastating 2025 fires in and around the city of Los Angeles.’
‘Despite the tireless efforts of our first responders, the city has been woefully unprepared to ensure the safety and well-being of its residents. Basic resources, such as water and emergency services, have been inadequate, and leadership has been nowhere to be found when it was needed most,’ the fundraiser said.
To recall Bass, proponents must gather signatures from at least 15% of the registered voters in the city.
Newsom has previously survived a recall effort in 2021, however his handling of the crisis has also led to renewed efforts to boot him from office and a formal recall initiative was launched this week against him.
Randy Economy, who is leading the recall effort against Newsom – who is term limited in 2027 – told Newsweek that he was insulted by Newsom’s call to ‘rebuild’ the Pacific Palisades.
‘How dare he? It’s up to the 10,000, 15,000 homes that have been destroyed,’ he said. ‘It’s up to the people.
‘This is emblematic of who he is as a leader, and I think this is emblematic of who he is as a politician, and he has no depth.
‘So therefore we are taking the extraordinary steps to officially recall him.’
This week, former US Attorney Michael Valentine shared footage of the breakout of the Palisades fire showing fire trucks took over 45 minutes to respond, arguing it ‘could have been contained’ with better funding.
‘I think Mayor Bass bears the ultimate responsibility for this failure, and I think she should be held accountable,’ Valentine told NewsNation. ‘There’s no way that that I could trust her again as my mayor in light of this tragedy, there’s, no way.’
