McIndoe, a captain at Fire Station 69 in Pacific Palisades, didn't think the plan was a good idea, he said in sworn testimony obtained by The Times. He had read the National Weather Service's forecast for the day - temperatures were expected to be warmer - and handling any lingering hot spots would be easier with hoses in place.
I didn't even want to use my gloved hand because it was hot, so I just kicked it with my boot to kind of expose it. There was like red hot like coals that was still smoldering, and I even heard crackling.
The wife of a man who killed himself after his home burned down in the Palisades fire is among more than a dozen plaintiffs who have filed lawsuits blaming the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and other defendants for causing or hastening the deaths of their relatives. The lawsuits the first death-related litigation in the Palisades fire were brought last month under a pilot law, state Senate Bill 447,
After the blaze destroyed his uninsured home in the Palisades Bowl mobile home park - which the owners, to this day, still have not cleared of fire debris - the boat docked in Marina del Rey became his home. "You either rise from the ashes or you get consumed by them," he said between tokes from a joint as he watched the sunset with his chihuahua tucked into his tan Patagonia jacket.
It was supposed to be a speech with a clear message of hope for survivors of the Palisades fire. In her State of the City address in April, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called for a law exempting fire victims from construction permit fees - potentially saving them tens of thousands of dollars as they rebuild their homes. Eight months later, the City Council is still debating how much permit relief the city can afford.
A federal judge on Tuesday, Nov. 18, denied a request that the man accused of starting the Palisades fire be released on bond citing concerns about his mental health, relationship with family members and apparent purchase of a firearm. Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, will remain in custody until his trial begins, tentatively scheduled for April. U.S. Judge Rozella A. Oliver's ruling came after Rinderknecht's father, Joel Rinderknecht, testified that despite prior issues, his family members were fully supporting the defendant
A lack of coordination between the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Fire Department contributed to evacuation delays and chaos during the Palisades fire, according to a new after-action report from the LAPD. The Los Angeles Police Department had difficulties coordinating with other agencies during the blaze namely the Los Angeles Fire Department and a lack of stable communication channels and technology, according to the report, released Tuesday, Nov. 4.
Firefighters mopping up a small brush fire that authorities say reignited as the Palisades fire five days later were ordered to leave the original burn scene even though they complained the ground was still smoldering and rocks remained hot to the touch, according to firefighter text messages reviewed by The Times. To the firefighters' surprise, their battalion chief ordered them to roll up their hoses and pull out of the area on Jan. 2 - the day after the 8-acre blaze was declared contained - rather than stay and make sure there were no hidden embers that could spark a new fire, the text messages said.
Haney said by phone Thursday he took an interest in Rinderknecht's case because there were things I knew about this case factually and things that didn't make sense to me. It's a very strange case, he added. Haney said prosecutors were using Rinderknecht as a scapegoat and said the attempt to hold him criminally liable for the failure of others is preposterous. There were blatant failures by governmental agencies that were intervening causes between the Lachman and Palisades fires, he said.
Jennifer Forkish, the LAPD's public information director, said she left the department Thursday at the request of Chief Jim McDonnell but vehemently denied making any unauthorized disclosures. "Any suggestion that I have ever shared or leaked information to the media is categorically false," she said in a statement. "No one in the Department, including the Chief has ever raised or discussed this baseless allegation with me, because it simply never happened. Anyone claiming otherwise is lying."
They alleged the seeds of destruction began not on Jan. 7 when the flames entered Pacific Palisades but on Jan. 1. They claim an Uber driver intentionally set the fire on a popular hiking trail in what they claim was a bizarre series of events that included listening to a French rap song. Firefighters responded and believed they had snuffed it out. But intense winds on on Jan. 7 reignited it.
LOS ANGELES -- An arrest has been made in connection with the Palisades Fire, which caused widespread destruction in Los Angeles County and killed a dozen people earlier this year, sources close to the investigation confirmed to ABC News. Federal and local law enforcement officials are scheduled to announce a "significant development" in the criminal investigation into the fire on Wednesday.
"We just wanted to have something where the community could gather and have a place to visit while they're visiting their place of residence ... and feel a bit of normalcy after such a devastating event," said Jim Harris, the restaurant manager and chief executive of Gladstones Legacy Group.
