Bill Maher Furiously Lashes LAFD's Equality Drive and Its 'Best Lesbian for the Job' Chief In Wake of L.A. Wildfire Carnage: 'Who Teaches People This Bulls---?'

Bill Maher returned to Real Time from his hiatus with a rage-filled monologue attacking the leaders of the Los Angeles Fire Department for how they handled the deadly wildfires, which burnt down a good chunk of the city.

Fires across the L.A. area have killed at least 27 people, destroyed more than 12,000 structures and charred more than 60 square miles, RadarOnline.com can reveal.

Real Time had its season premiere on Friday, January 17, and Maher spent much of the episode going on an angry rant about how the city had handled the blazes and, in his "New Rules" segment, asked: "Look me in the eye and tell me how anybody could've done worse?

"We got our a** kicked by fire, something Neanderthals fought to a tie."

Maher then questioned the fire department's commitment to DEI policies as the Palisades and Eaton wildfires continue to burn.

During his monologue, he sarcastically referred to LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley: "The good news is, our fire chief is a lesbian.

"Am I against a lesbian being chief? Of course not. Do I think a lesbian can do the job? Of course I do, and maybe she's the best person.

"Or maybe they really wanted a lesbian in the job, and maybe she's the best lesbian for the job, and with essential services, that is not enough."

Maher also cited a portion of Crowley's bio that claimed her "highest priority" was her devotion to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).

The late-night host told his viewers: "It's telling that 'diversity' is mentioned twice before we get to 'while'... 'while striving to meet expectations.'"

He also took a shot at a public relations video that re-emerged from 2019 of Deputy Chief Kristine Larson, the head of the Equity and Human Rights Bureau, who defended the fire department's use of DEI hiring practices.

In the clip, Larson said: "You want to see someone that responds to your house, to your emergency – whether it's a medical call or a fire call – that looks like you."

Maher responded: "Which would sound kinda' racist if a southern sheriff said it!

"So we should be sending white firefighters to white houses and black ones to... who teaches people this bulls***? No one cares what someone looks like when they're pulling you out of a burning house!"

The 68-year-old comedian attacked Larson for how she addressed concerns that female firefighters may not be strong enough to carry a man out of a burning building.

She said: "He got himself in the wrong place if I have to carry him out of a fire."

Maher quipped: "Well, tell that to these guys paying the price."

The host asked: "Now, is wokeness the main reason for the fires? Of course not. But it's also not wrong to associate some of the unforced errors our government made with the things normies see as hallmarks of uber-progressive politics."

He also cited "questionable budget priorities, high taxes that get you nothing, making everything about identity politics" and "virtue signaling overseas instead of tending to the nuts and bolts at home".

Maher ended the segment by taking a shot at Mayor Karen Bass, who was in Ghana attending the swearing-in of the country's first female vice president when the fires began to spread across the Los Angeles hillside.

He called for California to get back to "common sense", joking about how "wildfires in California are like b--- jobs in a strip club: inevitable and they're only getting bigger".