Real estate developer and 2022 Los Angeles mayoral candidate Rick Caruso discusses the Los Angeles mayoral race, California gubernatorial race and his potential political future on ‘Fox News @ Night’ but this YouTube clip did not include the Caruso’s comments YouTube Tips ⓘ
Former City of Los Angeles mayoral candidate has stated that the major wildfires in Los Angeles in January 2025 were not the fault of firefighter incompetence, but he did not mention the lack of proper on-scene fire command leadership that was described in the February 2026 released of a deposition of a firefighter that described improper extinguishment of hotspots.
The retail and commercial district Pacific Palisades was well protected from the advance of the Pacific Palisades fire in January 2025. Non-combustible buildings that look like they are made of wood are actually made of concrete that mimics the appearance of wood. A private fire department protected the retail and commercial district from ignition of any flammable items in the district.
Billionaire developer and 2022 mayoral candidate Rick Caruso stated that he will not pursue elected office, solidifying an earlier decision no to run, despite briefly reconsidering. He was the runner-up to Karen Bass in the 2022 Los Angeles mayoral election.
The race for Mayor of Los Angeles involves two candidates who will compete in the nonpartisan general election runoff on November 3, 2026. The first is Karen Bass, who is the Democratic incumbent who was first elected in 2022 and has been connected to failures in the Pacific Palisades fire of January 2025. The second is, Nithya Raman, who is a progressive Los Angeles City Councilmember and Democratic challenger.
Spencer Pratt, the former reality TV star from Hollywood Hills, ran as a registered Republican in the June 2026 primary election for Mayor of Los Angeles. His platform emphasized public safety, crime, homelessness, and disaster recovery following the loss of his home in the 2025 Palisades Fire.
Spencer Pratt finished third in the June 2, 2026, nonpartisan primary with roughly 25.5% of the vote, but failed to advance past the final vote count. He fell short of the top-two runoff spots which went to incumbent Democratic Mayor Karen Bass and progressive City Councilmember Nithya Raman.
Spencer Pratt’s 25.5% vote share marked one of the strongest showings for a GOP-aligned candidate in the heavily Democratic Los Angeles’s recent nonpartisan municipal history.
Caruso briefly considered running for Los Angeles mayor following a Los Angeles Times report concerning an analysis of Mayor Karen Bass and an after-action report on the Palisades Fire, but ultimately decided against a run. Bass was accused of altering the Palisades Fire after-action report, ordering key findings about the Los Angeles Fire Department’s response to be removed or softened before public release. Bass was also accused of being missing in action during the wildfire outbreak because she represented the Biden administration at a presidential ceremony in Ghana, West Africa. Bass admitted it was a mistake for her to be out of town with the dry weather conditions that prompted warnings that wildfires were likely.
“It was a mistake to travel, but I will tell you that we need to evaluate everything … Because, honest and truly, if I had all of the information that I needed to have, the last thing I would have done was to be out of town.”
— Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass
Caruso decided not to run, prioritizing family well-being and avoiding an increasingly hostile political climate as factors in his decision not to run for Los Angeles Mayor.
Rick Joseph Caruso is an American billionaire businessman, and the founder and former CEO of the real estate company Caruso.
Caruso also served as the chair of the board of trustees of the University of Southern California, President of the Los Angeles Police Commission, a member of the Board of Water and Power Commissioners.
Rick Caruso has stated that the issues during the Los Angeles wildfires were due to city mismanagement rather than the fault of the firefighters themselves.
Caruso initially said that the Pacific Palisades fire was not the firefighters’ fault. Caruso made a claim about empty fire hydrants during an interview with FOX 11 Los Angeles, “This is an absolute mismanagement by the city. Not the firefighters’ fault, but the city’s.” However, a deposition (see below) indicated that fire command did not properly manage hot spots prior to the wildfire outbreaks in Los Angeles in January 2025.
Caruso criticized the city for dry fire hydrants, depleted water tanks, and a lack of resources while the city was burning.
Caruso also blamed Mayor Karen Bass and local officials for an “epic level” of incompetence, poor planning, and failure to pre-deploy resources or mitigate risks before the winds hit.
Caruso also noted underfunding as the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) faced a $23 million budget cut and advocated for the department to be fully funded.
In a firefighter deposition about the Lachman fire and events that led to the Pacific Palisades fire, firefighter Scott Pike questioned the thoroughness and proper command of captains that did not recognize hot spots and lack of a good handline cut and lack of a clear differentiation between burn and green. There were red hot coals underneath the ashes. At that moment the firefighter realized that his assignment to pickup hose should have pivoted to charging those hose lines and do a more thorough mop up (use the charged hoselines to soak and extinguish the hot coals). He thought the hot spots required further action, and he mentioned this to other firefighters and felt “blown off”. When he informed the captain that there were hot spots, he said it was the captain’s duty to understand that the area should be mopped up better. He added that, “You don’t question a captain.” The firefighter stated that all of those hot spots were capable of rekindling. The firefighter in the deposition below said he was not interviewed by the After Report committee.
Explosive depositions have been released in February 2026 from LA City firefighters talking about the Lachman fire and the events that led up to the deadly Palisades Fire. The depositions were edited and released by attorneys representing thousands of Palisades Fire victims. YouTube Tips ⓘ
See also …
LA Times: LAFD acknowledges missteps involving Palisades fire following independent investigation
ABC7: Mayor Bass admits Ghana trip before wildfires was a mistake