A Florida firebug has been arrested for allegedly “maliciously” sparking the Palisades Fire — the most destructive wildfire in Los Angeles history — that left 12 dead and caused about $150 billion in damages earlier this year, the feds revealed Wednesday.
Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, is accused of sparking January’s raging inferno that devastated more than 6,000 homes and buildings in the wealthy coastal enclave.
“Rinderknecht started a fire in Pacific Palisades on New Year’s Day — a blaze that eventually turned into one of the most destructive fires in Los Angeles history, causing death and widespread destruction,” Acting US Attorney Bill Essayli said.
The blaze, which Rinderknecht allegedly lit on New Year’s Day, went on to torch more than 23,000 acres and took firefighters roughly three weeks to fully contain.
Investigators determined the fire started out near a popular hiking trail in the hillside of a state park overlooking the neighborhood, authorities said.
The Palisades Fire erupted around the same time as the Eaton Fire, which killed 19 people, but authorities haven’t yet disclosed a cause for that inferno.
Both fires crippled the region for weeks – reducing entire neighborhoods to ash.
Rinderknecht was arrested in the Sunshine State and will now be transferred back to California to stand trial.
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