"Federal investigators have determined that the wildfire that leveled much of Pacific Palisades on Jan. 7 was a so-called "holdover" from a smaller fire that was set intentionally on New Year's Day, about a week earlier. After Los Angeles firefighters suppressed the Jan. 1 fire known as the Lachman fire, it continued to smolder and burn underground, "unbeknownst to anyone," according to federal officials. They said heavy winds six days later caused the underground fire to surface and spread above ground in what became one of the costliest and most destructive disasters in city history."
"The revelations - unveiled in a criminal complaint and attached affidavit Wednesday charging the alleged arsonist, Jonathan Rinderknecht - raise questions about what the Los Angeles Fire Department could have done to prevent the conflagration in the days leading up to the expected windstorm on Jan. 7 and the extraordinary fire risk that would come with it. "This affidavit puts the responsibility on the fire department," said Ed Nordskog, former head of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's arson unit. "There needs to be a commission examining why this rekindled fire was allowed to reignite." He added: "The arsonist set the first fire, but the Fire Department proactively has a duty to do certain things.""
A smaller intentional fire set on New Year's Day continued to smolder underground after initial suppression and resurfaced six days later during heavy winds, igniting a large wildfire that devastated Pacific Palisades. Federal filings charging Jonathan Rinderknecht identify the earlier blaze as a "holdover" that burned unseen underground and later spread above ground during the wind event, producing one of the city's costliest disasters. LAFD officials did not pre-deploy engines to the Palisades ahead of the predicted winds while staffing up elsewhere. Former arson investigators urged a commission to examine the response and responsibilities.
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