A 29-year-old Uber driver has been arrested in connection with the Pacific Palisades fire, the most destructive wildfire in Los Angeles history, which killed 12 people and destroyed over 6,800 structures. Jonathan Rinderknecht allegedly started the blaze on New Year's Day 2025, and it reignited days later, causing billions of dollars in damage.
According to federal prosecutors, Rinderknecht appeared 'agitated and angry' after his shift, parked near Topanga State Park, and walked uphill while listening to a French rap song featuring burning objects. He allegedly used a lighter to ignite dry vegetation, starting the Lachman fire. Firefighters initially extinguished it, but it smouldered underground and reignited on 7 January amid strong winds, becoming the Palisades fire.
Investigators say Rinderknecht returned to the scene and offered to help firefighters, behaviour described as 'highly unusual'. He also filmed their response. Digital evidence from his phone showed he used ChatGPT months before the fire to generate images of burning cities and forests, and to confide an obsession with fire. In one prompt, he asked for a dystopian scene of the rich watching the world burn.
Rinderknecht also asked ChatGPT if he would be at fault if a fire was 'lift' (misspelling 'lit') by his cigarettes. In November, he told the chatbot he burned a Bible, saying it felt 'amazing' and 'liberated'. He sent a similar message to a family member. After the fire, he attempted to cover his tracks by lying about his location to police.
Acting US Attorney Bill Essayli described the incident as 'a single person’s recklessness' leading to catastrophic loss. Rinderknecht has been charged with destruction of property by fire, carrying a minimum sentence of five years and up to 20 years in prison. A judge in Orlando, Florida, where he later moved, deemed him a flight risk due to family ties in France.
