News brief
The U.S. Justice Department has charged a man with causing the Palisades fire, the most destructive fire in Los Angeles history.聽Authorities say Jonathan Rinderknecht, of Melbourne Florida, was an Uber driver living in the Palisades when he maliciously set a fire in the Santa Monica mountains on New Year鈥檚 eve. The LA County Fire Department suppressed that fire, which continued to smolder underground for a week. It reignited with the dry, windy conditions on Jan. 7, becoming the Palisades Fire, which killed 12 people and burned nearly 7,000 structures across more than 23,000 acres. The U.S. Attorney for California鈥檚 Central District charged Mr. Rinderknecht with destruction of property by means of fire.