Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass calls for an investigation into the Lakeman fire after a… Los Angeles Times report He noted that firefighters were ordered to abandon the underground fire that later became the Palisades Fire.
According to text messages, firefighters told their battalion commander that “the ground was still burning and the rocks remained hot to the touch” after responding to the Lachman Fire, which broke out on New Year’s Day before it was contained.
However, the battalion chief ordered fire crews to “raise hoses and withdraw from the area on Jan. 2 — the day after the 8-acre fire was declared contained — rather than remain and ensure there are no hidden embers that could ignite a new fire.” According to the Times report.
Days later, on January 7, gusty winds continued to fan the remains of the Lackman Fire, which exploded into the deadly Palisades Fire.
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The remains of beachfront homes that burned along the Pacific Coast Highway during the Palisades Fire in Malibu, California, on Wednesday, January 15, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Gretchen/Media News Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images) -
The US Department of Justice has seized a photo of Jonathan Rinderknecht over the devastation caused by the Palisades Fire in Malibu, California in January 2025 (AP). -
Homes along the Pacific Coast Highway are seen burning from the Palisades Fire, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) -
Firefighters watch water fall on the Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon on Saturday, January 11, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jay Si Hong) -
An aerial view shows the devastation caused by the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades section of Los Angeles, Monday, January 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) -
Charred cars sit along the Pacific Coast Highway, Tuesday, January 14, 2025, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) -
A Southern California Edison crew prepares the ground for power poles along the Pacific Coast Highway near homes destroyed by the Palisades Fire in Malibu, California, Wednesday. January 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel) -
FILE – Fire crews battle the Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon, Jan. 11, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jay C. Hong, File) -
A firefighter battles the Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon on Saturday, January 11, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jay Si Hong) -
A Southern California Edison crew prepares the ground for power poles along the Pacific Coast Highway near homes destroyed by the Pacific Palisades Fire in Malibu, California, Wednesday. January 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel) -
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, left, surveys damage in Pacific Palisades with CalFire’s Nick Shuler, center, and Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif.) during the Palisades Fire Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Pacific Palisades, California. (Jeff Gretchen/Orange County Register via AP) -
FILE – President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump walk with Jason Hennig, deputy chief of emergency services for the Los Angeles Fire Department, left, and Capt. Jeff Brown, chief of Station 69, as they tour the Pacific Palisades neighborhood affected by the recent wildfires in Los Angeles, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File) -
FILE – The devastation caused by the Palisades Fire is seen at sunset in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, on January 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope, file) -
A firefighter prepares a hose while fighting the Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon on Saturday, January 11, 2025 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) -
Homes along the Pacific Coast Highway are left burned to the ground following the Palisades Fire on Monday, January 13, 2025 in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/John Locher) -
FILE – Destruction from the Palisades Fire is seen in an aerial view in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File) -
Los Angeles County officials are advising the public to stay out of ocean waters as the Palisades Fire cleanup continues. (blocks) -
EPA team members are seen working to clean up property and hazardous waste during the first phase of the cleanup after the devastating Eaton and Palisades fires. February 2025. (KTLA) -
FILE – An aerial view shows the devastation left by the Palisades Fire on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File) -
FILE – Firefighters battle the Palisades Fire as it burns several buildings in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope, File) -
A person walks along the beach next to homes destroyed by the Palisades Fire along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, California, Sunday, January 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) -
Firefighters work at the site of an intense fire caused by strong Santa Ana winds on January 7, 2025 in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California. A fire in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles forced some residents to evacuate amid “life-threatening and damaging” winds. (Photo by Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images) -
The devastation caused by the Palisades Fire is seen early in the morning in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Friday, January 10, 2025. (AP Photo/John Locher)
In one text message reviewed by The Times, a firefighter who was at the scene on January 2 wrote that “the battalion commander was told it was a bad idea to leave the burn scar unprotected because of the visible signs of the burning terrain.” “And the rest is history,” the firefighter wrote in recent weeks.
The Palisades Fire killed 12 people, burned 23,448 acres and destroyed 6,837 structures in the Pacific Palisades, Malibu and Topanga area.
After the Times report… Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called for a ‘thorough investigation’ In the Los Angeles Fire Department’s response to the Latchman Fire. In a letter to LAFD Interim Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva on October 31, Bass wrote:
“This week’s report on the Lachman Fire is deeply alarming, and highlights the reforms and new leadership we have provided to the Los Angeles Fire Department since January. Make no mistake, our city’s firefighters are everyday heroes. We owe it to them and the people of Los Angeles to make sure their fire department is well-managed, organized, and prepared for any emergency that may arise.”
Several investigations, some ongoing, are looking into the January wildfires. I ask that you conduct a thorough investigation into this week’s report on the Lachman Fire. A full understanding of the Latchman Fire response is essential to have an accurate account of what happened during the January wildfires. This will continue to guide our ongoing reforms, which include strengthening pre-deployment protocols, enhancing inter-agency coordination, modernizing communications technology and expanding training at all levels of staff.
Earlier this month, on October 7, Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, of Melbourne, Florida, was arrested and charged with intentionally starting the Latchman Fire along a hiking trail shortly after midnight on January 1.
If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.