Palisades Fire
Federal Authorities Apprehend Individual Alleged to Have Triggered Wildfire
Published October 8, 2025 9:32 AM PDT
|
Updated October 8, 2025 2:22 PM PDT
Fox 11
Major development in the inquiry surrounding the catastrophic Palisades Fire in California… federal agents report the arrest of a suspect accused of sparking the blaze.
Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli has confirmed the apprehension of a 29-year-old man named Jonathan Rinderknecht, charging him with deliberately igniting what escalated into January’s Palisades Fire.
Essayli noted that the allegations state Rinderknecht initiated a fire in the Pacific Palisades on New Year’s Day, which transformed into the deadly wildfire resulting in 12 fatalities and the destruction of countless structures.
TMZ.com
Authorities claim to possess evidence tying Rinderknecht to the fire, including graphical depictions he allegedly created via ChatGPT showcasing a city engulfed in flames. Rinderknecht once resided in the Pacific Palisades area and had connections there.
Essayli remarked, “Although we cannot reverse the devastation caused, we hope that his arrest and subsequent charges provide some semblance of justice to those affected by this tragic event.”
TMZ.com
Rinderknecht is expected to make his initial court appearance today at 1:30 PM ET in U.S. District Court located in Orlando.
Related articles
n wbq.push(function gdprConnatix() {n var response = ‘unknown’;n n function accept() {n if (response === ‘accepted’) {n // idempotency ftwn return;n }n n (function () {n if (typeof window.cnxps !== ‘undefined’) {n return;n }n window.cnxps = {};n window.cnxps.cmd = [];nn !function (n) {n var t = n.createElement(‘iframe’);n t.src = “https://www.tmz.com/2025/10/08/arrest-made-pacific-palisades-fire-los-angeles/javascript:false”;n t.display = ‘none’;n t.onload = function () {n var n = t.contentWindow.document;n var c = n.createElement(‘script’);n c.src = ‘//cd.connatix.com/connatix.playspace.js’;n c.setAttribute(‘async’, ‘1’);n c.setAttribute(‘type’, ‘text/javascript’);n n.body.appendChild(c);n };n n.head.appendChild(t);n }(document);n })();nn (function () {n if (typeof window.cnx !== ‘undefined’) {n return;n }n window.cnx = {};n window.cnx.cmd = [];nn !function (n) {n var t = n.createElement(‘iframe’);n t.src = “https://www.tmz.com/2025/10/08/arrest-made-pacific-palisades-fire-los-angeles/javascript:false”;n t.display = ‘none’;n t.onload = function () {n var n = t.contentWindow.document;n var c = n.createElement(‘script’);n c.src = ‘//cd.connatix.com/connatix.player.js?cid=4365136b-b376-11e9-b4d2-06948452ae1a’;n c.setAttribute(‘async’, ‘1’);n c.setAttribute(‘type’, ‘text/javascript’);n n.body.appendChild(c);n };n n.head.appendChild(t);n }(document);n })();n n response = ‘accepted’;n }n n function reject() {n if (response === ‘rejected’) {n return;n }n response = ‘rejected’;n }n n watchConsent(function(canUse) {n canUse(‘connatix’) ? accept() : reject();n });n });n”},
{“_schema”:”pbj:triniti:common::render-context:1-0-1″,”cache_enabled”:true,”cache_expiry”:360,”platform”:”web”,”device_view”:”desktop”,”viewer_country”:”US”,”promotion_slot”:”desktop-news-permalink”,”section”:”permalink”,”booleans”:{“is_staff”:false}},
null,
[]
));
});
n window.wbq = window.wbq || [];n window.wbq.push(function loadOutbrainSmartfeed(app = window.TMZ) {n const outbrainDiv = document.getElementById(‘outbrain-permalink’);nn const page = app.select(app.selectors.getPage);n if (!page?.url) {n outbrainDiv.parentNode.removeChild(outbrainDiv);n return;n }nn if (window.DEVICE_VIEW === ‘smartphone’) {n outbrainDiv.style.backgroundColor = ‘white’;n outbrainDiv.style.display = ‘flex’;n }nn const smartfeedDiv = document.createElement(‘div’);n smartfeedDiv.setAttribute(‘data-widget-id’, ‘AR_1’);n smartfeedDiv.setAttribute(‘data-src’, page.url);n smartfeedDiv.className = ‘OUTBRAIN’;nn const script = document.createElement(‘script’);n script.type = ‘text/javascript’;n script.setAttribute(‘async’, ‘async’);n script.src = ‘https://widgets.outbrain.com/outbrain.js’;nn outbrainDiv.appendChild(smartfeedDiv);n outbrainDiv.appendChild(script);n });n”},
{“_schema”:”pbj:triniti:common::render-context:1-0-1″,”cache_enabled”:true,”cache_expiry”:360,”platform”:”web”,”device_view”:”desktop”,”viewer_country”:”US”,”promotion_slot”:”desktop-news-permalink”,”section”:”permalink”,”booleans”:{“is_staff”:false}},
null,
[]
));
});
