Palisades Fire Suspect Blames Firefighters—But Can't at Trial

A federal jury in Los Angeles on Wednesday begins hearing opening statements in the case of a 30-year-old Uber driver accused of igniting the city's most destructive wildfire. Prosecutors say Jonathan Rinderknecht set a small blaze in the Santa Monica Mountains just after midnight on Jan. 1, 2025, that smoldered for a week before winds drove it into the Palisades fire, which killed 12 people and leveled nearly 7,000 structures in Pacific Palisades, per the New York Times. Rinderknecht, who faces up to 45 years in prison on three felony counts and has pleaded not guilty, claims the initial "Lachman fire" stemmed from someone else's firework.

Prosecutors say Rinderknecht set the fire after talking to passengers about accused killer Luigi Mangione and asking ChatGPT to generate pictures of people running from burning forests. They've argued he was upset about a failed relationship and his lack of New Year's Eve plans. Rinderknecht's lawyers have instead argued firefighters were negligent, allowing the Lachman fire to continue smoldering underground, though the judge has blocked the defense from using that argument at trial, per the Guardian. The trial, expected to last two to three weeks, will feature fire-origin experts but is unlikely to settle broader questions about government responsibility, per the Times.