When flames erupted in Pacific Palisades on Jan. 7, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was more than 7,000 miles away, on a diplomatic mission to Africa.
Bass headed home shortly thereafter and was in transit for nearly 24 hours as the fire ravaged the Palisades and surrounding communities.
She and her office have said she was in constant communication during that period. But it’s impossible to know exactly what she was communicating, because her messages were not saved, according to a city lawyer.
“Her phone is set not to save text messages,” said the lawyer, David Michaelson.
Michaelson insisted that there is “no requirement that a City official or employee save text messages,” despite the fact that the city’s own document retention policies dictate that most records should be kept for at least two years.
On Jan. 10, The Times filed a public records request for all text messages sent or received by the mayor while she was in transit on Jan. 7 or Jan. 8 that mention fire response or her travel plans.
She has come under heavy criticism for being out of the country when the fire erupted amid a historically dry winter and forecasts of hurricane-force winds.
Nearly two months later, on March 6, Bass’ office said it had “no responsive records” without stating whether it was withholding any records or any reasons for not producing the records.
On March 7, responding to questions from The Times, Michaelson said that Bass does not save her text messages. He did not respond to additional questions about how regularly Bass deletes her text messages, whether she is manually deleting the messages and how this practice complies with city records regulations.
Los Angeles Administrative Code § 12.3(b)(6) dictates that most records “shall be retained for a minimum of two years unless a shorter period is otherwise permitted by law or a longer period is otherwise required by law, or unless, consistent with state law, a different period of retention is established by order or resolution of the Council.”
“I don’t know why the mayor’s text messages would not be covered in the provision,” said First Amendment Coalition Legal Director David Loy. “As far as I can tell, the mayor’s text messages are records of the city that must be retained for a minimum of two years, unless there’s some other period established by law, resolution or decision.”
It’s unclear what other law might apply solely to the mayor’s text messages, and Michaelson did not immediately respond to clarifying questions.
In response to public records requests, other agencies and public officials have released a multitude of records from the early days of the fire. California law dictates the release of these kind of records, unless there is a specific exemption.
Bass left Accra, Ghana at about 9 p.m. on Jan. 7, or roughly 1 p.m. Los Angeles time, as the fire grew, traveling the first leg on a military plane, where she was able to make phone calls and communicate by text and email.
Early the next morning, she boarded a commercial flight at Washington Dulles International Airport and would have only been able to communicate by email and text before arriving at Los Angeles International Airport at 11:24 a.m. on Jan. 8, according to her itinerary and flight records.
Bass has said that she was on the phone throughout the military flight from Accra to Dulles, and her staff has said she was actively involved in decision-making while abroad. She was also communicating via text message during that leg of her trip, according to at least one public official.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said Jan. 8 that she had been texting with Bass until 10:30 p.m. Los Angeles time the night before, which would have meant they were texting as Bass flew from Africa to Washington, D.C.
“Trust me, she’s very engaged. Very engaged,” Barger, whose district includes the Eaton fire zone, said Jan. 8 of Bass and her texts.
In response to a public records request from The Times, L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath’s office released a text message exchange between her and Bass.
At 11:50 a.m. Los Angeles time on Jan. 7, Horvath, whose district includes Pacific Palisades, texted Bass.
“Reaching out about Palisades fire. I understand our County Fire Dept is supporting City and our Office of Emergency Management has been in touch with City staff, also. Do you need additional help/ support? Anything you want to put on our radar at this time?” Horvath wrote Bass in a text message Horvath’s office provided in response to a public records request from The Times.
Bass responded at 1:07 p.m. Los Angeles time, or just after 9 p.m. Ghana time, when she would have been on her way back home.
“Thanks for asking I think we are good—I’ll call you in the am”, Bass wrote.
Times staff writers Matt Hamilton and David Zahniser contributed to this report.
