Arrest made in Palisades wildfire probe

29-year-old accused of starting initial blaze. LAED actions face heightened scrutiny.

- By RICHARD WINTON, HANNAH FRY, CHRISTOPHER BUCHANAN, TONY BRISCOE AND HAILEY BRANSON-PoTTs

A VIEW of the Palisades fire zone Wednesday after the arrest of a former Uber driver on suspicion of starting the firestorm.

(ALLEN J. SCHABEN Los Angeles Times)

The most destructive inferno in Los Angeles history, which charred a devastating path through Pacific Palisades and Malibu in early January, was a flareup of a fire that an Uber driver had intentionally set days earlier, federal prosecutors alleged Wednesday.

Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, is accused of starting the initial fire on New Year’s Day that rekindled to become the Palisades fire. He was arrested Wednesday in Florida and charged with destruction of property by means of fire, which carries a minimum of five years in federal prison.

Among the evidence collected from Rinderknecht’s digital devices was a dystopian image he generated on ChatGPT depicting a burning city with people trying to flee, said Bill Essayli, acting U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, at a news conference Wednesday.

Rinderknecht called 911 to report the fire, then offered to help firefighters battle the blaze, according to an affidavit by an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Prosecutors accused Rinderknecht of lying about where he was when he made his first 911 call.

“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.

The federal prosecution affirms a long-suspected theory among fire experts and comes after a nine-month investigation into the cause of the Palisades fire, which charred 23,400 acres and leveled more than 6,800 structures, including many homes. Twelve people died in the blaze.