(LOS ANGELES) — An arrest has been made in connection with the Palisades Fire, which caused widespread destruction in Los Angeles County and killed a dozen people earlier this year, the Department of Justice announced on Wednesday.
Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, is accused of “maliciously” igniting a fire on Jan. 1 in the Pacific Palisades that ultimately erupted into the Palisades Fire, the Department of Justice said.
The New Year’s Day brush fire was suppressed by fire crews but continued to smolder underground before high winds caused it to surface and spread nearly a week later, “causing what became known as the Palisades Fire, one of the most destructive wildfires in Los Angeles City history,” acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said during a press conference on Wednesday.
Rinderknecht has been charged by criminal complaint with destruction of property by means of fire. He was arrested on Tuesday near his residence in Florida and is scheduled to make his first court appearance in Orlando federal court on Wednesday, officials said.
The Palisades Fire erupted on Jan. 7, burning more than 23,000 acres over more than three weeks and destroying nearly 7,000 structures, according to California fire officials.
It ignited the same day as the Eaton Fire, which burned more than 14,00 acres in Los Angeles County, destroying more than 9,400 structures and killing 19 people, according to officials.
The fires started burning during strong Santa Ana winds, which, combined with dry conditions, helped their ability to spread quickly. This spread prompted mass evacuations.
The Palisades Fire decimated the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles.
What became known as the Lachman Fire was detected at 12:12 a.m. on Jan. 1 on a hilltop in the Pacific Palisades, according to the DOJ.
Rinderknecht, who the DOJ said was working as an Uber driver at the time and once lived in the Pacific Palisades — had dropped a customer off in the area of the fire, according to the complaint. Two of his passengers that night allegedly told law enforcement later that he appeared “agitated and angry,” the complaint stated.
The complaint alleges Rinderknecht caused the fire by lighting a combustible material, such as vegetation or paper, with an open flame, likely a lighter.
He attempted to contact 911 several times to report the fire, before ultimately getting through once he had cell service, according to the complaint. He allegedly made a three-minute screen-recording of his iPhone while attempting to call 911 and asking ChatGPT, “Are you at fault if a fire is lift [sic] because of your cigarettes?” according to the complaint.
“Based on my training and experience and this investigation, this indicates that RINDERKNECHT wanted to preserve evidence of himself trying to assist in the suppression of the fire and he wanted to create evidence regarding a more innocent explanation for the cause of the fire,” a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives wrote in an affidavit in the complaint.
Essayli said the suspect left in his car but then returned and filmed firefighters responding to the blaze.
There is no indication that anyone else was in the area at the time the fire started, Essayli said.
Investigators interviewed Rinderknecht on Jan. 24, during which he allegedly lied about where he was when he saw the Lachman Fire, according to the DOJ.
“He claimed he was near the bottom of a hiking trail when he first saw the fire and called 911, but geolocation data from his iPhone carrier showed that he was standing in a clearing 30 feet from the fire as it rapidly grew,” the DOJ said in a press release.
Essayli said he didn’t want to discuss motive, though he pointed to digital evidence included in the complaint of an image Rinderknecht allegedly generated in July 2024 using ChatGPT, showing in part “a burning forest and a crowd fleeing from it.”
“You could see some of his thought process in the months leading up, where he was generating some really concerning images up on ChatGPT, which appears to show a dystopian city being burned down,” Essayli said.
The charge is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted, the DOJ said.
Essayli said the DOJ will make determinations on additional charges against Rinderknecht in the coming days.
Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell called the investigation into the Palisades Fire “extremely intensive and thorough.”
“I’m proud of the professionalism and dedication shown by our detectives and the team who work collaboratively with our federal, state and local partners,” he said during the press briefing. “That teamwork ultimately led to the arrest of the suspect responsible for this devastating crime.”
Over the past eight months, investigators pursued more than 200 leads, conducted hundreds of interviews and collected more than 13,000 pieces of evidence, including fire debris, digital data and DNA samples, as part of the probe, according to Kenny Cooper, special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ Los Angeles Field Division.
“We have a lot of different data that all concluded where this fire started, and the fire behavior from that origin, from that Lachman Fire, was clearly established in the Palisades Fire,” Cooper said at the press briefing.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the city will release the Los Angeles Fire Department’s report on the Palisades Fire “shortly,” now that an arrest has been made.
“More than 9 months ago, our city faced one of the most devastating periods our region had ever seen. Lives were tragically lost. Thousands of homes were destroyed. Our heroic firefighters fought the blaze valiantly with no rest,” she said in a statement. “Each day that families are displaced is a day too long and as we are working tirelessly to bring Angelenos home, we are also working towards closure and towards justice — and today is a step forward in that process.”
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