James Woods rips LA Fire Chief Kristin Crowley for focusing on DEI instead of ‘filling the reservoirs’

James Woods slammed the chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department for making DEI her priorities while not filling the reservoirs with water to prevent the damage done by the LA wildfires. 

The actor, 77, has been speaking to the press about the fires, which have destroyed his Pacific Palisades home among at least a thousand others. ‘

While praising ‘the people’ of the LAFD, he trashed the leadership of Fire Chief Kristin Crowley, who is openly a lesbian. 

He specifically cited a portion of Crowley’s bio that her ‘highest priority’ is being devoted to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, or DEI, a much hated practice of corporations among conservatives. 

Woods pointed out that she was focused on that while, in the meantime: ‘Somebody forgot to fill all the reservoirs, I guess, with water!’

The actor cited his own experience, where fire trucks pulled up to his home but couldn’t pump water because the reservoirs were empty. 

‘When you are the fire chief, this isn’t a social justice exercise that you are in charge of,’ he said. 

‘This is [about] you getting water to areas that need water because there are fires and hundred-mile-an-hour winds burning houses to the ground.’ 

While praising ‘the people’ of the LAFD, he trashed the leadership of Fire Chief Kristin Crowley, who is openly a lesbian

Ingraham suggested that what Woods was begging for was ‘a return to competent leadership,’ speaking of the chief, Democrat Mayor Karen Bass and Governor Gavin Newsom. 

‘If it is true that things were handled this way, if it is true that Gavin Newsom is the absolute blithering idiot that I believe he is in the way he has handled fire management in this state again and again and again and again, this isn’t a wake-up call,’ he said.

He then suggested the mismanagement at a government level was ‘the kind of thing they have tribunals for, where they try people.’  

Crowley’s bio does indeed say, among other things, that: ‘Creating, supporting, and promoting a culture that values diversity, inclusion, and equity while striving to meet and exceed the expectations of the communities are Chief Crowley’s priorities.’

Earlier Wednesday, Woods broke down during a CNN interview as he described evacuating his Pacific Palisades home amid the Los Angeles wildfires.

He became emotional as he shared how his wife’s niece offered to help after their home was destroyed by the fires. 

Woods said his wife’s eight-year-old niece ‘came out with her little piggy bank for us to rebuild our house.’

‘I’m sorry, it’s just one day you’re in the pool and the next its all gone,’ Woods added as he teared up.

Crowley’s bio does indeed say, among other things, that: ‘Creating, supporting, and promoting a culture that values diversity, inclusion, and equity while striving to meet and exceed the expectations of the communities are Chief Crowley’s priorities’

The Oscar winner continued: ‘I’m sorry, I thought I was stronger than this…’

Woods had previously shared a video of the view from his destroyed home and wrote on X: ‘I took this last night from our beautiful little home in the Palisades.

‘Now all the fire alarms are going off at once remotely. It tests your soul, losing everything at once, I must say.’

As the wildfire continues to ravage California’s Pacific Palisades, many celebrities have had to flee their luxurious homes as authorities warned of an ‘immediate threat to life.’

Evacuation notices were initially placed along the affluent coastal region, with a chilling warning of an ‘immediate threat to life’ from the California Department of Forest and Fire Protection.

The apocalyptic inferno has torn through the ritzy neighborhood, home to many A-list celebrities, including Ben Affleck, Jhene Aiko, Tom Hanks, and Miles Teller, among others.

Reality TV star Spencer Pratt, 41, and his wife Heidi Montag, 38, lost their home in Pacific Palisades due to the raging wildfire.

Actor James Woods, 77, broke into tears as he described evacuating his home in Los Angeles

A ferocious new wildfire has erupted in the Hollywood Hills – sparking a mass evacuation of the iconic Hollywood Boulevard amid warnings that another 100,000 residents should be prepared to evacuate their homes.

The hellish, fast-moving inferno sweeping through the Hills triggered the urgent evacuation order at 6pm local time on Wednesday – impacting at least 50 acres already near Runyon Canyon. 

At least five people have lost their lives in the devastating natural disaster so far – with 1,000 structures completely obliterated and thousands of people left with nothing but ash across the City of Angels. 

Now, the Sunset Fire is set to wreak burning havoc in the celebrity epicenter, causing the famous strip, home to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the TLC Chinese Theatre and the Hollywood Bowl, to be evacuated.   

The alert read: ‘A Mandatory Evacuation Order is now in place for Laurel Canyon Blvd (on the west) to Mulholland Dr (on the north) to 101 Freeway (on the east) down to Hollywood Blvd (on the south).’

Witnesses who spotted the new blaze said that the flames ‘exploded in size,’ because the area is fertile with dense brush that is unfortunately spurring on the inferno. 

Fire crews are dropping water from the skies in an effort to contain the blaze and stop the spread to nearby neighborhoods. 

But embers are beginning to fly ahead of the main fire and catch onto buildings, with video capturing at least one residential building catching alight as of Wednesday evening.  

A ferocious new wildfire has erupted in the Hollywood Hills – sparking a mass evacuation of the iconic Hollywood Boulevard

Fire crews are dropping water from the skies in an effort to contain the blaze and stop the spread to nearby neighborhoods

Meanwhile, stone-faced Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has stayed quiet after her city was razed by the wildfires – refusing to comment after she personally cut the LA Fire Department’s budget by $17.6 million in 2024.

Speaking from above the blaze in a helicopter, ABC 7 reporter Chris Christi said: ‘Very concerning sight here. Just north of Hollywood Boulevard. This thing has exploded in size. This is all very thick fuel that is fueling this brush fire. 

‘They have immediately called for the 20 closest trucks to come out here, but accessing this fire is going to require more than trucks. 

‘This thing is blowing up before our eyes. It is a very sizeable fire that is spreading rapidly.’ 

Hollywood High School is serving as an evacuation center, but traffic down from the Hills is already at a complete gridlock as residents attempt to flee, sparking fears there will be similar mass-panic as seen in Pacific Palisades on Tuesday, when people abandoned their cars in the street and bulldozers were required to clear the way.

Traffic is backed up in Laurel Canyon Boulevard in Studio City as thousands of residents heed warnings that the fast-moving fire is approaching.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department gave a chilling warning as the fire ramped up on Wednesday, telling locals: ‘Be prepared, pack important documents and gather family, children and pets now. We will update with information as it becomes available.’ 

Thousands of homes and structures have already been lost across California, but with fires still burning it’s impossible for officials to get a grip on the true scale of loss.

The hellish, fast-moving inferno sweeping through the Hills triggered the urgent evacuation order at 6pm local time on Wednesday – impacting at least 20 acres already near Runyon Canyon

This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows burning and destroyed houses

A trio of the smaller fires which were burning across the state are now contained, but at least three are still burning in addition to the Hollywood Hills blaze which has just ignited. 

The Pacific Palisades – which was the first luxurious area to be engulfed in the fires – is home to the likes of Miles Teller, Anthony Hopkins, and John Goodman.

But the Hollywood Hills is perhaps the most sought-after celebrity zip code in the world, with big names such as Salma Hayek and Quentin Tarantino residing in the area.  

Mayor of Pasadena Victor M. Gordo revealed on Wednesday afternoon 100,000 people were already under mandatory evacuation orders, and there are another 100,000 now warned to also leave, the New York Times reported.

With thousands of firefighters already attacking the flames, the Los Angeles Fire Department put out a plea for off-duty firefighters to help, and weather conditions were too windy for firefighting aircraft to fly, further hampering the fight. Fire officials hoped to get the flights up later Wednesday.

In addition to the two deaths, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said many others were hurt in the fires, which threatened at least 28,000 structures.

‘This morning, we woke up to a dark cloud over all of Los Angeles. But it is darkest for those who are most intimately impacted by these fires. It has been an immensely painful 24 hours,’ LA County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said.

At least 70,000 people were ordered to evacuate — a number that kept changing because evacuation orders were continually being issued, officials said. The flames marched toward highly populated and affluent neighborhoods home to California’s rich and famous. Hollywood stars, including Mark Hamill, Mandy Moore and Woods, were among those forced to flee.

The remains of a house burned to the ground as a result of the Palisades wildfire in Pacific Palisades

Images of the devastation showed luxurious homes that had collapsed in a whirlwind of flaming embers. The tops of palm trees whipped against a glowing red sky.

The home of Vice President Kamala Harris was included in an evacuation zone, although no one was there, according to a spokesperson.

More than 100 schools were closed due to fire risk. 

The flames also cut off power to more than 180,000 people mostly in Los Angeles County, according to the tracking website PowerOutage.us. 

Southern California Edison shut off some service because of safety concerns related to high winds and fire risks. More than 500,000 could face shutoffs depending on weather conditions, the utility said.

Recent dry winds, including the notorious Santa Anas, have contributed to warmer-than-average temperatures in Southern California, where there’s been very little rain so far this season. 

Southern California hasn’t seen more than 0.1 inches of rain since early May.