Follow continuing coverage of the wildfires in Southern California.

When a series of dangerous, wind-driven fires broke out on Tuesday in the Los Angeles area, Mayor Karen Bass was on the other side of the globe, part of a delegation sent by President Biden to Ghana for the inauguration of its new president.

Ms. Bass, a former Democratic congresswoman who became mayor in late 2022, did not return to Los Angeles until Wednesday afternoon, by which point more than 1,000 homes had burned and 100,000 people across the region had been forced to flee from their homes.

The mayor’s absence has drawn criticism from some Angelenos. Many said there was insufficient warning from officials about the likelihood of devastating fires, even as weather forecasts predicted extreme danger this week.

By Thursday last week, the National Weather Service in Los Angeles had begun warning of “extreme fire weather conditions.” By Sunday, the warnings had become even more dire — “rapid fire growth and extreme behavior with any fire starts.”

But Mayor Bass posted her first warning on X about the wind storm on Monday, when she was already in Ghana. Her office did not send out a news release about fire risk until nearly 11 a.m. on Tuesday morning, after the blaze in Pacific Palisades had already broken out.

“There was zero preparation. There was zero thought here,” said Michael Gonzales, 47, whose home burned down in Pacific Palisades, a wealthy neighborhood that overlooks the Pacific Ocean. His family of five was camped out in a hotel in Santa Monica on Wednesday as they began figuring out where they will live.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber? Log in.

Want all of The Times? Subscribe.