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Her halting initial response to the fires triggered fierce criticism, and she sparred with her then fire chief and her own recovery czar.

She began the year facing a barrage of criticism over the city’s handling of the Palisades fire — her initial absence, her removal of an outspoken fire chief, the unpredictable doings of her recovery czar.

But the Home Office's own estimate is that the cost of the Nics rise to all fire authorities is £40m, which also lends weight to the fire chiefs' claims of a 50% shortfall.

She floundered when initially asked about her trip, faced criticism from her fire chief — whom she later ousted — and appeared to be out of sync with her own recovery czar.

Bass removed Crowley as fire chief on Feb. 21, and her relations with some other leaders have been publicly strained.