A federal arson trial began Monday in Los Angeles for Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, the man accused of sparking the deadly Palisades Fire in January 2025. Rinderknecht has pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors say he started a fire on January 1, 2025, and it burned undetected deep in root systems before flaring back up on January 7. The Palisades Fire ultimately killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes as it swept through hillside neighborhoods in Pacific Palisades and Malibu. Rinderknecht faces at least five years in prison if convicted of charges that include malicious destruction by means of a fire.
According to ABC News, lead defense attorney Steve Haney has said Rinderknecht is being made a scapegoat for the Los Angeles Fire Department's failure to fully extinguish the January 1 blaze. Jury selection is expected to last several days before opening statements begin midweek. The trial is expected to take about two weeks.
The news of the trial drew mixed reactions from Pacific Palisades residents, many of whom have spent the last year and a half dealing with insurance claims and red tape for building permits. Palisades streets are now crowded with construction vehicles and workers, and charred trees have recovered their green. But vacant lots remain, filled with weeds and wildflowers and skeletal frames of homes. Of more than 450 construction projects, only 17 homes have been certified for occupancy.
Meghan Wald, whose home was among the few left standing on her block, now lives in nearby Brentwood but visits weekly to support businesses that have reopened. "It drums up all of the emotions over this past year and makes me think about all of the suffering and chaos of all of our neighbors and friends' lives," she said. She visits her hair salon, the usual CVS pharmacy, and the Palisades Garden Cafe, where her children used to grab snacks after school. "It's great to see the shops that we know and love coming back," Wald said. "It's also hard to imagine what it's going to be like. It will never be the same."
The fire has become a central theme in incumbent Mayor Karen Bass's reelection bid. Bass was in Ghana as part of a presidential delegation when the flames ignited. One of her challengers, reality TV personality Spencer Pratt, lost his home in the blaze and has made what he calls municipal ineptitude a central campaign message. It is not yet clear if Pratt won enough votes in the primary to face Bass in November's runoff election.
The trial opens as the broader Los Angeles region continues to process the scale of destruction the fire caused. The case is one of the most prominent federal arson prosecutions in California history, and its outcome could have significant implications for how the city reckons with the fire's origins.
