"The arrest of a 29-year-old Florida man for starting what eventually became the Palisades fire shed more light Wednesday, Oct. 8, on firefighters' suppression efforts, while affirming, for many, suspicions that local residents have had for months: that a smaller blaze, drive by fierce winds on Jan. 1 reignited a week later into the most destructive wildfire in Los Angeles history."
"On Jan. 7, fierce winds reignited the Lachman fire, according to special agent Kenny Cooper of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the lead agency in the nine-month investigation. And that would explode into what became the Palisades fire, raging for 25 days, destroying more than 23,000 acres, killing 12 and burning about 6,800 structures in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles and in Malibu, according to prosecutors with the U.S. Department of Justice."
Jonathan Rinderknecht, a 29-year-old former Pacific Palisades resident, was arrested and charged with destruction of property by means of fire for allegedly starting the Lachman fire on Jan. 1 on federal land and adjacent state and MRCA property. Firefighters initially suppressed the Lachman fire, but the blaze continued to smolder underground within dense vegetation root systems. Fierce winds on Jan. 7 allegedly rekindled the holdover fire, which exploded into the Palisades fire and burned for 25 days, consuming over 23,000 acres, killing 12 people and destroying roughly 6,800 structures in Pacific Palisades and Malibu. The ATF led the nine-month investigation; charges remain subject to judicial review.
Read at www.dailynews.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]