Trial begins for man accused of sparking deadly Palisades Fire

The first rebuilt homes are still rare in Pacific Palisades, and so are the answers residents want about how a January blaze became one of California’s deadliest wildfires. While construction vehicles, charred trees and empty lots still mark the neighborhood, a federal jury selection process began in downtown Los Angeles for Jonathan Rinderknecht, the 29-year-old accused of sparking the fire.

Rinderknecht appeared Monday in Courtroom 9C at the Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez United States Courthouse wearing a white shirt and blue tie, and he has pleaded not guilty. The case is before U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang. More than 80 potential jurors were sworn in and told to return for questioning as the trial moved forward in a city still living with the fire’s fallout.

Prosecutors say Rinderknecht set a fire just after midnight on Jan. 1, 2025, on land owned by the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority. They say the original blaze was a holdover fire from the Lachman Fire, smoldering underground in dense root systems before heavy winds on Jan. 7 caused it to flare back up as the Palisades Fire. The Justice Department says investigators relied on witness statements, video surveillance, cellphone data and fire-pattern analysis.

A federal grand jury indicted Rinderknecht on Oct. 15, 2025, on three felonies: destruction of property by means of fire, arson affecting property used in interstate commerce and timber set afire. If convicted, he faces at least five years in prison and as much as 45 years.

The scale of the loss remains stark. CAL FIRE lists the Palisades Fire at 23,448 acres, 100% contained on Jan. 31, 2025, with 6,845 structures destroyed, 975 damaged and 12 confirmed civilian fatalities. The fire leveled homes across Pacific Palisades and Malibu, leaving residents to sort through insurance claims, permits and the slow work of rebuilding.

Recovery has started, but only unevenly. In November 2025, Mayor Karen Bass said the first rebuilt home in Pacific Palisades received a certificate of occupancy and that more than 340 rebuilding projects had started construction. The city later reported more than 1,300 rebuilding plans approved for 650 addresses and more than 1,070 permits issued for more than 540 addresses, with only 17 homes certified for occupancy.

The trial has also become part of the political reckoning in Los Angeles, where the Palisades disaster remains a burden for Bass and a live issue in the 2026 mayoral race. The case may determine criminal responsibility, but for many residents it cannot deliver the broader closure, accountability and recovery that the fire still withholds.