Arrest Made in Connection with Palisades Fire in California, Which Killed 12 By Nicole Acosta 31

An arrest has been made in connection with the California Palisades Fire, which killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes and hundreds of businesses in Los Angeles County earlier this year.

Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, was arrested on a criminal complaint charging him with maliciously starting what became the Palisades Fire in January, Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli announced on X Wednesday, Oct. 8.

The complaint alleges that Rinderknecht started a fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood on New Year’s Day, which “eventually turned into one of the most destructive fires in Los Angeles history, causing death and widespread destruction,” Essayli wrote.

“Among the evidence that was collected from his digital devices was an image he generated on ChatGPT depicting a burning city,” he added.

Rinderknecht, of Melbourne, Fla., was expected to appear in court on Wednesday, Oct. 8 at 1:30 p.m. in Orlando, Fla. It’s unclear if he has entered a plea or retained an attorney to speak on his behalf.

According to a federal complaint obtained by PEOPLE, investigators determined that the Palisades Fire was a “holdover” fire, meaning it was a continuation of a fire known as the Lachman Fire that began on Jan. 1, 2025.

“Although firefighters quickly suppressed the Lachman Fire, unbeknownst to anyone the fire continued to smolder and burn underground within the root structure of dense vegetation,” the complaint states.

A week later, on Jan. 7, heavy winds caused the underground fire to surface and spread above ground in what became known as the Palisades Fire, which caused widespread damage in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles.

The blaze went on to claim the lives of 12 people and burn over 23,000 acres, according to a report from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

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Rinderknecht — who once lived in the Pacific Palisades area — likely used a lighter that set fire to combustible material such as vegetation or paper, authorities alleged in the complaint.

“While we cannot undo the damage and destruction that was done, we hope his arrest and the charges against him bring some measure of justice to the victims of this horrific tragedy,” Essayli wrote in his post.