During the first 24 hours of the Los Angeles wildfire disaster, Mayor Karen Bass was a constant presence on social media, urging Angelenos to flee evacuation zones and announcing her decision to declare a state of emergency.

But Bass himself was far from the city. As the flames swept through Pacific Palisades, she was on a diplomatic mission to Africa, communicating remotely with key city authorities.

Bass left the city on Saturday as part of a presidential delegation to Ghana, just as the National Weather Service began increasing its warnings about the impending storm. On Tuesday, she attended the inauguration of Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama, leaving City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson as L.A.’s deputy mayor when the Palisades fire broke out.

When she returned to the United States, Bass faced some harsh criticism over the city’s handling of the fires. She stood in silence at an airport as a Sky News reporter peppered her with questions about her decision to travel to Africa.

In a video of the confrontation, Bass largely avoided eye contact as the reporter pressed her on whether she needed to apologize to Angelenos for her time in Africa — and whether she regretted cutting the fire department’s budget earlier this year.

“Madam Mayor, do you have nothing to say to the citizens who are struggling with this catastrophe today?” asked the reporter. Bass didn’t answer any of his questions.

As the Palisades fire exploded violently on Tuesday and new fires broke out in Sylmar and elsewhere, Harris-Dawson, not Bass, served as the city’s top elected official at news conferences. And with Bass away from the cameras, real estate developer Rick Caruso — her opponent in the 2022 mayoral election — stepped in to fill the information gap, criticizing the city’s handling of the disaster in multiple news outlets.

Caruso, whose daughter lost her home in the wildfires, expressed outrage over the lack of water pressure that was hampering firefighters in Pacific Palisades. On Fox11, he criticized Bass for her absence, saying, “We have a mayor who is out of the country and we have a city that is burning.”

“We have a mayor who seems more concerned with being at some party, wherever that may be,” Caruso said in an interview with the Times. “We have terrible leadership that is causing billions of dollars in damages because they weren’t here and didn’t know what they were doing.”

After her return, Bass said she chose the “quickest way back” to the United States and traveled part of the way on a military plane. During this trip, she had telephone service that allowed her to stay in touch with public safety personnel.

“I was able to talk on the phone the entire flight,” she said.

Asked earlier in the day about the low pressure in the city’s fire hydrants, Department of Water and Power officials said there had been “tremendous demand” on the water system, which had been stretched “to the limit.” The system received four times the typical demand for 15 hours, reducing overall water pressure, DWP Executive Director Janisse Quiñones said at a news conference Wednesday morning.

During the same meeting, Crowley, the fire chief, told reporters that Bass would return around noon. Bass’ deputy chief of staff, Celine Cordero, said her boss was “actively involved in decision-making” during her time overseas.

“I want to assure the community and the city that our mayor has been 100% active over the last 24 hours during this unfortunate event and crisis,” Cordero said as he appeared before a series of news cameras.

Los Angeles County Manager Kathryn Barger confirmed those claims, saying she remained in regular contact with Bass throughout the emergency and was texting with her until 10:30 p.m. Tuesday.

“Trust me, she is very dedicated. Very dedicated,” said Barger, whose district covers the northern end of the county.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna also wasn’t concerned about Bass’ absence, saying he was dealing directly with the police chief, fire chief and other officials. He said he was sure Bass was trying to return as quickly as possible.

“Even though I may not see the mayor, I feel her presence,” Luna said.

The National Weather Service began warning of potentially strong winds on Thursday, two days before Bass left for Ghana amid “extreme fire conditions.” These warnings intensified in the following days. On Monday, officials prepared for a potentially life-threatening and destructive storm.

Eric Spiegelman, a Los Feliz resident who served on the city’s Board of Taxicab Commissioners for several years, said Bass should have booked an earlier flight home no later than Sunday after the National Weather Service issued a fire weather warning for L.A. and Ventura counties had. That bulletin warned of “strong and damaging winds” and “critical fire conditions.”

“She should have been here on Tuesday, period,” Spiegelman said. “They kept increasing the danger level.”

The Palisades fire broke out around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday. About five hours later, Bass spokesman Zach Seidl told the Times that the mayor was “on his way” from Ghana. In the following hours, wildfires broke out or spread to Altadena, Pasadena, Malibu and Sylmar. Bass took a military flight to Washington, D.C., and traveled commercially from there, Seidl said.

This isn’t the first time an LA mayor has been out of town during a major crisis. Mayor James K. Hahn spent several days in Washington, DC in 2001 following the September 11 terrorist attacks. As the planes remained grounded, then-City Council President Alex Padilla — now a U.S. senator — took steps to reassure the public about efforts to keep the city safe.

As of mid-morning Wednesday, Bass and her team were still providing updates on the wildfires, reporting that helicopters were again dropping water on the flames in Pacific Palisades. When President Biden received a briefing on the Santa Monica fires, Crowley and Police Chief Jim McDonnell were there representing the city.

By 1 p.m., Bass was back in LA, touring Pacific Palisades with Gov. Gavin Newsom and U.S. Sen. Padilla.

“I saw the front lines of the Palisades Fire,” she said a few hours later, “and it’s breathtaking.”

Times staff writers Grace Toohey and Liam Dillon contributed to this report.