Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, a.k.a. “Jonathan Rinder” and “Jon Rinder”—a former resident of Pacific Palisades now living in Melbourne, Florida—has been arrested on a federal complaint charging him with “maliciously starting what eventually became the Palisades fire of January 2025,” the United States Department of Justice announced on October 8.

“According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, law enforcement determined that the Palisades fire was a ‘holdover’ fire—a continuation of the Lachman fire that began early in the morning on New Year’s Day 2025,” according to the DOJ. “Although firefighters quickly suppressed the Lachman fire, unbeknownst to anyone the fire continued to smolder and burn underground within the root structure of dense vegetation. On January 7, heavy winds caused the underground fire to surface and spread above ground in what became known as the Palisades fire, which caused widespread damage in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles.”

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is investing the matter, with “substantial assistance” from Los Angeles Police Department and United States Forest Service.