An Uber driver set blaze that led to destructive Palisades fire, federal authorities say
The arrest comes after a nine-month investigation into the blaze, which killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes in the hillside community.
A 29-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday, Oct. 7, on suspicion of igniting a blaze that led to the Palisades fire — which killed 12 people and damaged or destroyed thousands of structures during an uncommon windstorm that swept through Southern California, federal authorities announced on Wednesday, Oct. 8, in a downtown Los Angeles press conference.
Jonathan Rinderknecht was charged in a federal complaint with starting the Lachman fire, a small blaze in the Pacific Palisades area, on New Year’s Day, U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said.
Despite the fire being put out by firefighters, it “continued to smolder and burn underground within the root structure of the dense vegetation” — reigniting on Jan. 7 during heavy winds to become the Palisades fire, “one of the most destructive fires in Los Angeles history,” he said.
Rinderknecht faces a federal charge of destruction of property by means of fire, which carries a possible maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
He accused of dropping off an Uber customer and then setting the blaze. How he allegedly did so was not disclosed.
The fire was ignited with an “open flame,” Essayli said, adding that Rinderknecht was a resident of the Pacific Palisades and had a friend who lived in the area at the time he started the fire. He moved to Florida and lives in Melbourne there. Essayli said it’s possible that Rinderknecht could face additional charges.
Witnesses told authorities he was driving for Uber that night and appeared “agitated and angry,” Essayli said. Rinderknecht allegedly listened to a rap song accompanied with a music video that shows objects burning, then walked up the hillside and started the fire.
“It took the defendant several tries to contact 911 to report the fire,” Essayli said.
He then initially fled in his car but turned around and went back when he saw firefighters. He allegedly took video of firefighters battling the blaze on his phone.
In an interview with authorities, Rinderknecht allegedly lied to authorities and said he was farther down the hillside, but his cellphone location record shows he was standing above the fire, 30 feet away, at the time he called 911, Essayli said.
Rinderknecht was scheduled Wednesday to appear in court in Orlando, Florida.
The Palisades fire ignited about 10:30 a.m. on Jan. 7, sending firefighters to the Palisades hillside as winds howled at upward of 80 mph. By the time it was contained on Jan. 31, the fire had scorched more than 23,000 acres and had damaged or destroyed more than 7,000 structures.
Initially, investigators looked into a theory of a previous fire on New Year’s Day in the area of Skull Rock, a popular hiking area, reigniting.
Los Angeles city firefighters had said the Lachman fire was started by fireworks in the area shortly after midnight, but fire officials reported they had stopped forward progress of that blaze around 3:30 a.m. and, about an hour later reported that firefighters had fully contained the fire.
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