The recent arrest of Jonathan Rinderknecht, the alleged arsonist behind the devastating Palisades Fire, has been hailed by California Governor Gavin Newsom as a moment of "closure" for the residents of Pacific Palisades.
However, this arrest has only served to ignite more questions than it has extinguished. While it has provided some clarity on the origin of the fire, it has also sparked a series of inquiries that remain unanswered.
The criminal charges against Rinderknecht suggest that he intentionally ignited the fire shortly after midnight on New Year's Day, 2025. According to RedState, the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) managed to contain the fire within a day or two, depending on the LAFD official providing the information.
However, the fire continued to smolder and burn underground for nearly a week, fueled by dense vegetation. On January 7, a predicted windstorm brought the embers to the surface, and by the following morning, most of Pacific Palisades had been consumed by the fire.
Federal investigators have confirmed that Rinderknecht used a lighter found in his glove compartment to start the fire, debunking rumors that it was caused by teenagers setting off New Year's fireworks. Ed Norskog, the former head of the LA County Sheriff's Department arson unit, expressed his concerns to the Los Angeles Times, stating, This affidavit puts the responsibility on the fire department. There needs to be a commission examining why this rekindled fire was allowed to reignite. The arsonist set the first fire, but the Fire Department proactively has a duty to do certain things.
From the outset, residents of Pacific Palisades suspected that the Palisades Fire was not a new ignition, but a resurgence of the January 1 fire. During a community meeting on January 16, 2025, LAFD Assistant Chief Joe Everett assured residents that the January 1 fire was "dead out" before January 7.
He stated, "On the fire on New Year's Eve. I was not there. I was out of town. However, when that fire broke out I got myself and my deputy chief were up on the phone talking to each other and talking to the Incident Commander. I can tell you those people on that fire ground were highly qualified and well-trusted. They also did what they called a cold trailing operation well into the next day. We kept a patrol well over 36 hours. We kept the hose line on the hill, we call it we kept it plumbed just to go back and continue to patrol. That fire was dead out. If it is determined that was the cause, it would be a phenomenon."
However, an Instagram reel from CBS News contradicts this claim, showing photos taken by a hiker on the morning of January 1, hours after the LAFD announced that the fire had been contained. The images depict the ground still smoldering, and satellite imagery shows smoke rising from the area of the Temescal Ridge Trail on the morning of January 7, just before residents reported the fire.
ATF Special Agent in Charge Kenny Cooper, during a press conference, referenced his own experience as a firefighter, stating that it is common practice for wildland firefighters to patrol a recent burn area for days or weeks to look for signs of reignition.
He said, "We would go suppress [the fire], and then every day, for weeks on end, we would patrol those areas to make sure they didnt reignite. If we saw evidence of smoke or heat, then we would provide resources to that. So that, I know thats a common practice, and its just, its a very difficult fire burning underground."
However, according to a verified complaint filed by fire victims, this practice was not followed in the case of the Palisades Fire. Despite red flag warnings and a Fire Weather Watch issued starting January 3, no LAFD or CalFire assets were pre-deployed to Pacific Palisades on January 7.
Instead, LAFD pre-deployed nine engines to the San Fernando Valley and the Hollywood Hills, neither of which had recent fires at risk of rekindling.
The closest crews to the Lachman Fire were stationed three to four miles downhill from where the fire reignited. Incident logs reveal that it took 19 minutes for the first engine to reach the scene, and that crew immediately requested 10 more engines. One minute later, LAFD Captain Brandon Ruedy informed dispatch that the blaze "ha[d] the potential for 200-plus acres in the next 20 minutes."
The ignition of the fire and the LAFD's failure to ensure its complete extinguishment are not the only factors at play here. The intensity, rapid spread, and lethality of the blaze were greatly exacerbated by nearly 50 years of unchecked vegetation growth in Topanga State Park, a result of the absence of brush clearance or controlled burns.
This neglect falls squarely on the shoulders of Governor Newsom and the environmentalists he has catered to. Further, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) failed to ensure that there was sufficient water to combat the blaze and to de-energize power lines once the fire had started.
While victims of the Palisades Fire are grateful for the clarity on the fire's origin and cause, they remain angry and have many questions. Jon Brown, who attended the press conference, told the LA Times, I think this is only going to infuriate people, to be honest. They think that they have done something by finding the guy who did it, but theyre really going to fan the flames on what everybody is really pissed about. Why wasnt the fire put out on the 1st?
Darrin Hurwitz, who hiked the Temescal Ridge Trail on the morning of January 7 and smelled smoke around 8:15 a.m. that day, said he didn't see any fire engines pre-positioned that day, no firefighters out near the scene of the Lachman Fire, and didn't observe any air assets. His home and his children's school, Marquez Elementary, burned. Further, he said that it wouldn't have been difficult to have at least a few resources on the ground near that burn scar.
Spencer Pratt, a former reality TV show star who lost both his family home and childhood home in the Palisades, and who has become a leading advocate for the fire victims, sent a message to Gavin Newsom, stating, "Gavin Newsom desperately wants you to move on from the Palisades Fire. Hes so desperate, he doesnt realize that todays arson arrest proved the foundational point of our lawsuit against Newsom and the State of California."
"Todays arrest proves that Newsoms Topanga State Park allowed a fire to smolder for a week without doing anything to mitigate it. This is exactly what we alleged in our lawsuit, and hes so dumb he doesnt realize that this helps us sue him. I think the hair gel is getting to his brain cells."
"He says this brings closure to the victims because he wants you to stop talking about the fire thats on his hands. This aint closure, pal. Its just the beginning. Thank you to the DOJ and the ATF for finally releasing the evidence that proves that our lawsuit against Gavin Newsom is on point."
This story is far from over. As the dust settles and the smoke clears, the residents of Pacific Palisades are left with a landscape scarred by fire and a multitude of unanswered questions. The arrest of Rinderknecht may have provided some answers, but it has also ignited a series of inquiries that remain to be addressed.
The responsibility of the LAFD, the role of Governor Newsom, and the actions of the LADWP are all under scrutiny as the community seeks to understand how this disaster could have been prevented. The fire may be out, but the quest for answers is just beginning.
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