MADRID 11 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD), Kristin Crowley, has denounced that the cut of 17 million dollars (about 16.6 million euros) in the municipal administration’s budget for the force has affected the ability to confront the forest fires that are ravaging the city and that have left at least eleven dead.
“We can no longer stay where we are. We don’t have enough firefighters,” Crowley said in statements reported by the American network CNN.
This cut has had a negative impact on firefighters’ ability to fight fires. The department head has also said she repeatedly tried to show city officials “how understaffed, under-resourced and under-funded the LAFD is.”
Additionally, he highlighted that the department has experienced a 55 percent increase in call volume since 2010, while the number of firefighters has decreased.
“The arrival of additional resources will help us with this current disaster,” he stated, adding that “looking forward, it can happen anywhere in the entire city of Los Angeles, and we need to be fully funded and supported.”
At least eleven people have died in the wildfires that have devastated the Los Angeles metropolitan area in recent days, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner.
More than 153,000 residents remain under mandatory evacuation orders and another 166,000 are under notice this Friday, the sheriff added during his appearance, reported by the North American media.