Marta Segura, the first chief heat officer for the city of Los Angeles, was quietly fired from her position last month, The Times has confirmed.
Segura stepped into the new role in 2022 amid a marked increase in climate-fueled heat events. Her appointment by then-Mayor Eric Garcetti came with much fanfare, as it made L.A. only the third American city to name a chief heat officer, following Phoenix and Miami. Segura also previously served as director of the city’s Climate Emergency Mobilization Office.
Segura confirmed that the Bass administration let her go last month, as first reported by the Substack Climate Colored Goggles. She said no reason was given for the decision, but declined to comment further.
Officials with the Bass administration said they are in the process of appointing a new person to the role.
“Extreme heat is one of Los Angeles’ most dangerous climate hazards, and it will only become more severe without urgent action,” said spokesperson Paige Sterling.
The new chief heat officer will “advance Mayor Bass’s Climate Action Plan,” Sterling said, which includes developing the city’s heat action and resilience plan, expanding tree canopies and implementing citywide cooling strategies. “We thank Marta for her service as the City’s inaugural Chief Heat Officer.”
Some local environmentalists said Segura’s departure brings more upheaval for a city already grappling with worsening climate challenges.
“Where have all the environmental leaders gone in this administration?” asked Mark Gold of the nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council. Other recent departures include Janisse Quiñones, who resigned as the head of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power in March; and Barbara Romero, who stepped down as head of the city’s Bureau of Sanitation in October amid rumors that she was pushed out. Both were advocates for clean energy and sustainability goals.
The city’s Office of Sustainability, which led the implementation of Garcetti’s ambitious Green New Deal, was also remodeled early in Bass’s tenure, with many of its responsibilities moved to the Board of Public Works and the Climate Emergency Mobilization Office. Last year, the Climate Emergency Mobilization Office was itself moved from Public Works to the city’s Emergency Management Department.
But while Bass has reaffirmed and in some areas advanced L.A.’s climate goals — such as moving toward 100% renewable energy by 2035 — climate has largely been less of a priority than homelessness and public safety. The mayor last year proposed eliminating the Climate Emergency Mobilization Office amid a $1 billion budget shortfall, a move that was ultimately rejected by the L.A. City Council.
With Segura gone, the office’s former staff of six is now down to one employee, deputy heat officer Gordon Haines.
Even still, some city council members have been able to make progress on heat-related issues independent of the office. Last fall, councilmembers Eunisses Hernandez, Adrin Nazarian and Bob Blumenfield introduced a motion to set indoor heat standards for renters in the city, mirroring an ordinance from the L.A. County Board of Supervisors. The motion is advancing through the drafting process now.
In April, Bass released a new Climate Action plan for the city which largely replaces the Green New Deal and calls for doubling local solar power by 2030, reducing the use of fossil fuels in building and city buses, and addressing heat risk, among other items.
Emergency Management Department spokesman Joseph Riser said he was unable to comment on personnel matters, but the chief heat officer position “remains a priority for us as we work to continue to ensure the issues related to climate resilience are addressed across our hazard planning efforts.”
Segura was appointed to the role as the city faced cascading climate hazards, including severe drought and extreme heat waves. A record-breaking heat wave in September 2022 killed hundreds of people statewide and nearly broke the power grid.
Segura’s appointment also followed a Times investigation into extreme heat’s deadly toll, which found that California chronically undercounts heat deaths, and that heat impacts disproportionately affect poorer neighborhoods in Los Angeles.
Bass’s office said the new chief heat officer will be announced this month.
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