For months, there was intense hypothesis about what induced the Palisades fireplace.
On Wednesday, federal prosecutors provided an in depth timeline about what they allege induced the hearth, which charred 23,400 acres and leveled greater than 6,800 buildings, together with many properties in Pacific Palisades and Malibu and killed 12 individuals.
They alleged the seeds of destruction started not on Jan. 7 when the flames entered Pacific Palisades however on Jan. 1. They declare an Uber driver deliberately set the hearth on a preferred climbing path in what they declare was a weird sequence of occasions that included listening to a French rap music. Firefighters responded and believed that they had snuffed it out. However intense winds on on Jan. 7 reignited it.
The suspect, Jonathan Rinderknecht, couldn’t be reached for remark and is in custody in Florida. This can be a timeline of these fateful two hours on New Years Eve as specified by court docket information. A few of the exact instances are estimates. Authorities allege this led to the destruction of a lot of Pacific Palisades:
LAPD officers maintain the general public and media out of the Cranium Rock Trailhead in an space
(Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Occasions)
11:15 pm.: Rinderknecht drops off passengers in his Uber. They later instructed authorities he appeared agitated.
11:28 p.m. Suspect listened to the music “Un Zder, Un The,” by the French artist Josman, on his iPhone. Investigators allege the music included themes of “despair and bitterness… Google information point out that he had listened to the identical music 9 instances within the earlier 4 days.”
11:34 p.m.: He drops off a passenger on Palisades Drive and drives towards Cranium Rock Trailhead.
11:38 p.m. He parks at Cranium Rock Trailhead and tries unsuccessfully to achieve a pal who lived close by. He walks up the path to a small clearing, passing an indication saying “No Fires/Smoking.”
11:47 a.m.: He takes photographs and a video of the world.
11:54 p.m. He listens to “Un Zder, Un The.”
Las Lomas Place properties had been destroyed close to from Cranium Rock.
(Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Occasions)
12:12: a.m. A digital camera reveals the primary indication of a hearth within the space. He calls 911 nevertheless it “didn’t undergo, most certainly as a result of he was out of cellphone vary.” He tries once more, unsuccessfully. Over the subsequent jiffy he tried to achieve 911 a number of instances.
12:17 a.m. He lastly will get by to 911. In keeping with the criticism, “he reported the hearth (by that time an area resident already had reported the hearth to 911). Throughout the name, [he] typed a query into the ChatGPT app on his iPhone, asking, ‘Are you at fault if a hearth is raise [sic] due to your cigarettes.’ (ChatGPT’s response was ‘Sure,’ adopted by an evidence.)”
12:20 a.m. He drives across the space, sees fireplace vans headed to the hearth and decides to comply with the vans. He will get to the path space the place firefighters had been now battling the blaze. He “later instructed investigators that he provided to assist the firefighters battle the hearth,” the criticism mentioned.
1:02 a.m. He took a number of photographs capturing firefighters battling the flames.
Remainder of Jan. 1: Firefighters used water dropping plane and hand crews. “Suppression efforts continued through the day of January 1, 2025, as firefighters continued to moist down areas inside the fireplace perimeter. When the suppression efforts had been over, the hearth crews deliberately left fireplace hoses on website, in case they wanted to be redeployed.”
Jan. 2: “LAFD personnel returned to the scene to gather the hearth hoses. It appeared to them that the hearth was absolutely extinguished.”
