What happened
Federal officials in Los Angeles Wednesday announced the arrest of a 29-year-old former Uber driver for allegedly sparking the Palisades Fire, which tore through the city’s Pacific Palisades neighborhood and parts of Malibu in January, destroying thousands of homes and killing 12 people. The suspect, Jonathan Rinderknecht, was arrested at his home in Melbourne, Florida, on Tuesday.
Who said what
“A single person’s recklessness caused one of the worst fires Los Angeles has ever seen,” acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement. According to authorities, Rinderknecht “appeared to be obsessed with fire” and deliberately ignited an open flame on a hiking trail in the Santa Monica Mountains early Jan. 1, then fled and “called 911 to report it” but returned and “used his phone to take videos of the response,” The New York Times said. Firefighters suppressed that fire after it burned eight acres, but “officials said it continued burning underground until winds ignited what became the Palisades Fire” a week later, Fox News said.
Investigators “went through exhaustive efforts to rule out potential ignition sources,” including “fireworks, cigarettes or downed power lines,” The Wall Street Journal said. California leaders welcomed the arrest as a “significant development in closure and justice for the thousands of people affected by the fire,” which was one of several “unprecedented and disastrous” blazes that ravaged Los Angeles County in January amid “strong and erratic winds.”
What next?
At a brief hearing in Orlando Wednesday, a federal judge ordered Rinderknecht back to court on Oct. 17 to “consider bond and extradition proceedings,” The Associated Press said. If convicted, he faces between five and 20 years in prison.
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