""The subpoena seeks any and all communications, including text messages, related to reports of fire, smoke, or hotspots received between" 10 p.m. on New Year's Eve and 10 a.m. on Jan. 7, said the memo, which was dated Tuesday. A spokesperson with the U.S. attorney's office declined to confirm that a subpoena was issued and otherwise did not comment. The memo did not include a copy of the subpoena."
"Last month, an ATF investigation led to the arrest of former Pacific Palisades resident Jonathan Rinderknecht, who was charged with deliberately setting the Jan. 1 fire shortly after midnight near a trailhead. It is unclear from the memo whether the subpoena is directly related to the case against Rinderknecht, who has pleaded not guilty. During the Rinderknecht investigation, ATF agents concluded that the fire smoldered and burned for days underground "within the root structure of dense vegetation," until heavy winds caused it to spark the Palisades inferno, according to an affidavit attached to the criminal complaint against Rinderknecht."
A federal grand jury subpoena was served on the Los Angeles Fire Department seeking firefighters' communications, including text messages, about smoke or hotspots between 10 p.m. on New Year's Eve and 10 a.m. on Jan. 7. The subpoena was described in an internal department memo and said to be issued in connection with an ongoing criminal investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. ATF agents arrested Jonathan Rinderknecht last month on charges of deliberately setting the Jan. 1 fire. ATF agents concluded the fire smoldered underground for days until winds sparked the larger Palisades fire.
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