{"id":59894,"date":"2025-10-09T11:49:29","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T18:49:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=59894"},"modified":"2025-10-09T11:49:55","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T18:49:55","slug":"ex-palisades-man-charged-in-blaze-that-became-massive-wildfire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=59894","title":{"rendered":"Ex-Palisades man charged in blaze that became massive wildfire"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\" data-start=\"146\" data-end=\"335\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\"><strong>LOS ANGELES\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" data-start=\"146\" data-end=\"335\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Federal prosecutors have charged a former Pacific Palisades resident with igniting the Palisades Fire of January 2025, one of the most destructive wildfires in city history, according to officials.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" data-start=\"337\" data-end=\"670\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, also known as \u201cJonathan Rinder\u201d and \u201cJon Rinder,\u201d was arrested Tuesday in Melbourne, Fla., on a criminal complaint alleging destruction of property by fire.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Palisades Fire arrest: Timeline of suspect\u2019s alleged actions leading up to fire\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2bKggPzHiWg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" data-start=\"145\" data-end=\"561\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">According to a federal affidavit, investigators concluded that the Palisades Fire of January 2025 was a \u201choldover\u201d blaze \u2014 a rekindling of the Lachman Fire that broke out in the early hours of New Year\u2019s Day. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" data-start=\"145\" data-end=\"561\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Although firefighters quickly extinguished that initial blaze, embers smoldered unseen in dense root systems until heavy winds on Jan. 7 drove the flames above ground, engulfing parts of Pacific Palisades.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" data-start=\"563\" data-end=\"902\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Prosecutors allege that Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, deliberately set the Lachman Fire just after midnight on Jan. 1 near Skull Rock Trailhead, on land owned by the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" data-start=\"563\" data-end=\"902\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">The blaze later spread onto federally funded property, turning into the fire that caused widespread destruction a week later.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" data-start=\"904\" data-end=\"1332\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Authorities said their conclusion rested on witness accounts, cellphone data, surveillance footage, and fire-pattern analysis. The affidavit details that on New Year\u2019s Eve, Rinderknecht, working as an Uber driver, appeared agitated to passengers. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" data-start=\"904\" data-end=\"1332\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Later that night, prosecutors say, he parked near the trailhead, attempted to contact a former friend, recorded videos on a hilltop, and listened to a rap song with imagery of fire.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" data-start=\"1334\" data-end=\"1714\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">At 12:12 a.m., environmental sensors detected flames. Rinderknecht repeatedly dialed 911 before reaching dispatch, but investigators said phone records place him about 30 feet from the fire\u2019s origin \u2014 contradicting his claim that he spotted the blaze from a distance. After reporting the fire, he allegedly drove past fire engines, returned to the scene and filmed the response.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" data-start=\"1716\" data-end=\"1882\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Rinderknecht, who has denied wrongdoing, is charged with destruction of property by fire. A conviction carries a minimum of five years in prison and up to 20 years.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LOS ANGELES\u00a0 Federal prosecutors have charged a former Pacific Palisades resident with igniting the Palisades Fire of January 2025, one of the most destructive wildfires in city history, according to officials. 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