Man charged with starting Palisades fire that killed 12 people

A 29-year-old man has been arrested and charged with igniting the fire that days later became the devastating Palisades blaze, which killed 12 people and destroyed more than 6,800 structures in one of the most destructive wildfires in Los Angeles history. Jonathan Rinderknecht was arrested near his Florida residence on federal charges of destruction of property by means of fire, acting US attorney for the central district of California, Bill Essayli, announced on Wednesday. No motive was presented. The investigators allege Rinderknecht maliciously started what became the Lachman fire, shortly after midnight on New Year’s Day in the Pacific Palisades. That fire smoldered underground for nearly a week before resurfacing on 7 January amid heavy winds, spreading rapidly to become the Palisades fire, investigators say. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) said a wide-ranging investigation it conducted in past months raked in more than 13,000 items of evidence, and included hundreds of interviews – some overseas – and more than 200 leads. Investigators also documented more than 300 ATF reports, including a 200-page report detailing the origin and cause of the investigation. According to Essayli, Rinderknecht, who was a Palisades resident before relocating to Florida, had been working as an Uber driver on New Year’s Eve and returned to the Pacific Palisades after his evening shift. Two passengers told law enforcement he appeared “agitated and angry” that night, Essayli said. After dropping off a passenger, according to the investigators, Rinderknecht parked his car and walked up a nearby trail, taking iPhone videos at a hilltop location while listening to a rap song whose music video included objects being set alight. He had reportedly listened to the song and watched its video repeatedly in the days before the fire. Law enforcement officials identified and interviewed Rinderknecht on 24 January. During questioning, he allegedly lied about his location when he first saw the fire, claiming he was near the bottom of a hiking trail. However, geolocation data from his 911 call showed he was standing above the fire in a clearing merely 30ft from the blaze as it rapidly grew, prosecutors said. Among the digital evidence collected was an image Rinderknecht had generated on ChatGPT months before the fire, depicting what Essayli described as “a dystopian painting showing in part a burning forest and a crowd fleeing from it”. The Palisades fire was one of several major blazes that encircled Los Angeles in early January. The blaze destroyed more than 6,800 structures, including homes and businesses, and damaged over 1,000 more buildings. A fire that broke out the same day in nearby Altadena killed nearly 20 people. Investigators have not yet determined the cause of that fire. Rinderknecht faces a mandatory minimum five-year federal prison sentence if convicted, with a maximum penalty of up to 20 years. He was scheduled to make his initial appearance on Wednesday afternoon in federal court in Orlando, Florida. “While we cannot undo the damage and destruction that was done, we hope his arrest and the charges against him bring some measure of justice to the victims of this horrific tragedy,” Essayli said. In a statement, California governor Gavin Newsom thanked investigators for “confirming the indisputable facts on the ground”. “Today’s arrest of 29-year-old Florida resident Jonathan Rinderknecht marks an important step toward uncovering how the horrific Palisades fire began and bringing closure to the thousands of Californians whose lives were upended,” he said. An outside review of Los Angeles county’s response to the blazes released last month found that critical staffing shortages, including at sheriff’s department and the office of emergency management, contributed to the emergency. The report also concluded that outdated policies for sending emergency alerts led to delays in warning residents about the need to evacuate as flames began consuming neighborhoods in Altadena and the Pacific Palisades. In addition, the report noted, information sharing between emergency responders was hampered by unreliable cellular connectivity, inconsistent field reporting methods, and the use of different communicating platforms. The report was produced by the consulting firm McChrystal Group and was commissioned by county supervisors.