According to a new poll, public confidence in Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has hit a new low over a month after massive fires devastated her city.

Just 19% of Los Angeles residents rated the mayor’s response to the fires as excellent or good, per a survey from the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times. That number is a sharp drop from a January poll sponsored by the conservative Los Angeles-based media firm Madison McQueen, which found 37% approved of her handling of the fires.

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Both surveys reflect a precipitous decline in goodwill toward Bass after a March 2023 poll showed half of Angelenos approved of her job performance.

The survey results come as Bass faces mounting scrutiny over her actions leading up to the fires, which many residents believe contributed to the disaster that destroyed thousands of homes and affected nearly 2,000 small businesses in January.

Questions persist about why the Santa Ynez Reservoir, a 117-million-gallon water storage complex that is part of the Los Angeles water supply, sat empty and out of commission when the fires broke out, as well as why the Los Angeles Fire Department’s budget was cut shortly before the crisis occurred. The fires have become a significant political challenge for Bass, complicating her efforts to regain public trust. 

The Berkeley poll surveyed 5,184 registered voters in Los Angeles County from Feb. 17 to Feb. 26.

Viral footage of Bass left speechless when questioned about the fires, and criticism of her presence in Ghana when the crisis sparked has fueled public frustration. A Los Angeles Times investigation published last week added to the scrutiny, revealing accusations that the mayor deleted text messages about her initial response.

An online petition calling for Bass to step down as mayor has amassed over 179,000 signatures from “residents of Los Angeles and concerned citizens.”

“Water supplies have been severely strained, billions of taxpayer dollars have been misallocated or left unaccounted for, and countless lives have been lost. Families have been displaced, homes destroyed, and livelihoods shattered—yet Mayor Bass has been absent from the frontlines, choosing to travel abroad while her constituents suffer,” the petition states. “We call on our fellow Angelenos and all concerned citizens to stand with us in holding Mayor Bass accountable. It is time for a change.” 

Mark DiCamillo, director of the Institute of Governmental Studies poll and a longtime California pollster, said Bass has “been wounded” in the aftermath of the wildfires.

“Clearly, the effect of the fire is damaging her image, and it’s drawing all this real strong negativity in certain quarters,” he said. 

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Steven Maviglio, a Democratic political consultant based in Sacramento, previously told the Washington Examiner he believed it could be difficult for Bass to salve her political career. 

At the time, the mayor’s office slammed “staggering” misinformation surrounding the crisis, saying that “hurricane-force winds and unseasonably dry conditions drove these firestorms.”