'Mayor Bass insisted again today that fire department budget cuts haven't impacted suppression efforts — before shutting down conversation about the increasingly touchy subject.
The first-term mayor said $17.8 million in LAFD reductions hasn't hurt efforts to knock down the still out-of-control Palisades Fire.
"There were no reductions that were made that would have impacted the situation that we were dealing with over the last couple of days," she told reporters.
When asked about the budget again minutes later, Bass said dollars and bottom lines are not on her mind right now.
"Our No. 1 priority right now is to save lives, to protect lives, to save homes," she said. "I'm not here to talk about the status of our budget."'
