Messages show firefighters warned that the ground remained hot and smoldering one day after the blaze was declared contained
Days before the deadly January wildfire that destroyed thousands of homes in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles firefighters were told to leave a still-smoldering brush fire site that investigators now say reignited into the inferno, according to a report from the Los Angeles Times.
Text messages reviewed by the Times show firefighters warned their battalion chief that the ground at the so-called Lachman fire remained hot and smoldering on Jan. 2 — one day after the 8-acre blaze was declared contained. Despite their concerns, crews were ordered to roll up their hoses and leave rather than continue monitoring the area for potential reignitions.
Five days later, federal authorities say, strong winds reignited hidden embers from the burn area, sparking the Jan. 7 Palisades fire that killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes across Pacific Palisades, Malibu, and Topanga.
The Times reported that the Los Angeles Fire Department declined to comment on the text messages but maintained that officials believed the fire was fully extinguished. Interim Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva told the Times that the later blaze resulted from an “undetectable holdover fire” that burned underground within the root systems of dense vegetation.
City Councilmember Traci Park, who represents the Palisades, said residents had reported signs of smoke before Jan. 7. “Knowing that there was a fire on Jan. 1 and then rekindle activity … why weren’t additional resources staged or deployed?” Park said in an interview.
Federal investigators have since charged former Pacific Palisades resident Jonathan Rinderknecht with arson, alleging he deliberately set the Jan. 1 fire. Authorities said the blaze continued to smolder underground for days before resurfacing.
The Times investigation found the LAFD did not pre-deploy firefighters and equipment to the Palisades despite days of warnings about a dangerous windstorm. Critics have since accused city leaders of failing to take basic precautions to prevent one of the deadliest fires in Los Angeles history.