Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass addressed questions this week about her leadership during the deadly January wildfires in Los Angeles and her trip to Africa before the fires erupted. Bass acknowledged publicly for first time that her Africa visit at the time the Jan.

In an interview late last week, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass admitted that she made a mistake by taking a trip to West Africa despite reports of severe fire weather that ultimately sparked two of the most destructive wildfires in the city’s history.