L.A. Palisades Wildfire Hearth
Feds Cost Alleged Arsonist Behind Firestorm
Revealed October 15, 2025 6:56 PM PDT
The person accused of igniting the catastrophic Pacific Palisades wildfire in Los Angeles has been hit with a federal indictment.
In response to the U.S. Division of Justice, Jonathan Rinderknecht was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury on three counts together with two felonies. They’re all tied to the New Yr’s Day blaze that destroyed practically 7,000 houses and companies and triggered an estimated $150 billion in damages.
The indictment fees him with arson affecting property utilized in interstate commerce, destruction of property by hearth, and timber set afire that are all critical federal crimes.
Prosecutors say Rinderknecht deliberately set a brush hearth within the hills above L.A. on January 1, which firefighters initially managed to knock down however days later, it reignited and exploded into what grew to become often called the Palisades Hearth, devastating complete neighborhoods.
]Rinderknecht will seem in Los Angeles federal court docket within the coming weeks. If convicted, he faces a minimal of 5 years and as much as 45 years behind bars.
