A 29-year-old suspect has been arrested and accused of “maliciously starting” the deadly Palisades Fire, in Los Angeles, that killed a dozen people earlier this year.
The complaint against Jonathan Rinderknecht alleges that he started a fire on New Year’s Day, that turned into one of the most destructive fires in the city’s history.
The fire in the Pacific Palisades area destroyed over 6,800 buildings and killed 12 people on January 7. It was not fully contained until January 31.
Announcing the news on X Wednesday Bill Essayli, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, said that among the evidence collected from Rinderknecht’s digital devices was an image he generated on ChatGPT depicting a burning city.
“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 wrote.
Rinderknecht’s initial appearance is scheduled for today at 1:30 p.m. EDT in U.S. District Court in Orlando.
A joint press conference, held by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Los Angeles Police Department, took place 9 a.m. P.T. Wednesday.
An outside review released in September found that a lack of resources and outdated policies for sending emergency alerts led to delayed evacuation warnings.
The report, commissioned by Los Angeles County supervisors, said a series of weaknesses, including “outdated policies, inconsistent practices and communications vulnerabilities,” hampered the county’s response.
Investigators are still working to determine the cause of the Palisades blaze or the Eaton Fire, which broke out the same day in the community of Altadena and killed 18 people.
Both fires burned for days, reducing entire neighborhoods to rubble and ash and ultimately spread across more than 40,000 acres – larger than the land area of Washington D.C. – with the flames having been fanned by a fierce windstorm known as the Santa Ana winds.
The economic losses from the fires may reach $275 billion, according to previous estimates.
