Mayor Karen Bass was at cocktail party in Ghana as fires began after leaving LA the day windstorm warnings were intensified

She left her home city on January 4—the same day the National Weather Service "intensified warnings about a coming windstorm," the LA Times reports. By January 8, when Bass was returning home, the fire had already blossomed horrifically and smoke plumes were visible across the city. The reception attended by Bass was hosted by the US Ambassador to Ghana, a spokesperson for whom said that Bass spent much of the time on her phone in another room.

Bass was also posing for photos, the LA Times reported, "just before 8 pm Ghanaian time, the day the fire ignited, or just before 12 pm in Los Angeles." Just minutes after the photo was snapped, evacuation orders were issued for Pacific Palisades. So far, 24 people are dead, thousands of homes and buildings have burned to the ground, more than 150,000 people have been displaced, and the Palisades Fire, the largest of the four fires burning in the area, is not even 50% contained.

Her deputy mayor was also unavailable because he had been subjected to an FBI raid of his home. Bass' office made a statement at the time, saying "The Mayor's Office was notified that the FBI searched the home of Deputy Mayor Brian Williams yesterday [December 18] as part of an investigation into a bomb threat he allegedly made against City Hall earlier this year. He was immediately placed on administrative leave. The Mayor takes this matter very seriously."

After she returned, Bass said "So although I was not physically here, I was in contact with many of the individuals that are standing here throughout the entire time."

"When my flight landed, I immediately went to the fire zone and saw what happened in Pacific Palisades," she went on to say. "I took the fastest route back, which included being on a military plane, which facilitated our communications. So I was able to be on the phone the entire time of the flight."

"Inexplicable decision to not come back earlier," said Pod Save America's Tommy Vietor.

"If it is true that she left the country on a Saturday after the warning came out, that is a dereliction of duty," said Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel, who had been a Bass supporter during the last mayoral race. Rick Caruso, who ran against Bass, was able to hire private firefighters to defend and protect his shopping mall. It was one of the only structures left standing in the area.

The party was "a decidedly low-key affair held to introduce the Biden delegation to some high-profile Ghanaians," the LA Times reported, quoting emcee for the event Nathaniel Attoh.