LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Friday requested a full investigation into the fire department’s handling of the Lachman Fire, which lead to the devastating Palisades Fire days later.
The Lachman Fire sparked on Jan. 1 and the Los Angeles Fire Department were able to put it out that day, but a few weeks ago, federal investigators said that fire smoldered underground for a week, and on Jan. 7, heavy winds restarted it and it became the Palisades Fire.
On Thursday, the LA Times reported that crews mopping up the area of the Lachman Fire warned a battalion chief that the ground was still smoldering and rocks remained hot to the touch, and that it was a “bad” idea to leave the scene. However, despite those concerns, the crews were told to leave the area.
Another firefighter recently texted that crew members were upset about being told to leave, but they could not disobey orders, according to the Times. The firefighter also wrote that he and other firefighters knew immediately when the Palisades Fire erupted Jan. 7 that it was a rekindling of the earlier Lachman Fire.
Bass wrote in a letter to interim Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva that said, in part: “I am requesting that you thoroughly investigate this week’s report regarding the Lachman Fire… a full understanding of the Lachman Fire response is essential to an accurate accounting of what occurred during the January wildfires.”
Earlier this month, 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht was arrested for allegedly setting the Lachman Fire in the early morning hours of Jan. 1. Prosecutors contend that despite that fire being doused, it continued to smolder underground and was reignited by fierce Santa Ana winds, becoming the deadly Palisades Fire that wiped out much of the upscale Pacific Palisades community.
Rinderknecht was charged with one count of destruction of property by means of fire, one count of arson affecting property used in interstate commerce, and one count of timber set afire. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is due back in federal court Nov. 12 in downtown Los Angeles.
The Palisades Fire burned 23,448 acres and destroyed much of the exclusive community, destroying about 6,800 structures and killing 12 people.
City News Service contributed to this report
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