Mayor Karen Bass calls for investigation into LAFD’s handling of smoldering blaze that became Palisades Fire

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass is calling for an investigation into the Lachman Fire after a Los Angeles Times report indicated that firefighters were ordered to abandon the smoldering underground fire that later became the Palisades Fire.

According to text messages, firefighters told their battalion chief that “the ground was still smoldering and rocks remained hot to the touch” after responding to the Lachman Fire, which ignited on New Year’s Day before being contained.

However, the battalion chief ordered fire crews to “roll up their hoses and pull out of the area on Jan. 2 — the day after the 8-acre blaze was declared contained — rather than stay and make sure there were no hidden embers that could spark a new fire,” according to the Times report.

Days later on Jan. 7, gusty winds continued stoking the remnants of the Lachman Fire, which exploded into the deadly Palisades Fire.

In one text message reviewed by The Times, a firefighter who was at the scene on Jan. 2 wrote that the “battalion chief had been told it was a ‘bad idea’ to leave the burn scar unprotected because of the visible signs of smoldering terrain. ‘And the rest is history,” the firefighter wrote in recent weeks.

The Palisades Fire killed 12 people, scorched 23,448 acres and destroyed 6,837 structures in the Pacific Palisades, Malibu and Topanga.

Following the Times report, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass called for a “thorough investigation” into the Los Angeles Fire Department’s handling of the Lachman Fire. In a message to LAFD interim Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva on Oct. 31, Bass wrote: 

“This week’s report about the Lachman Fire is tremendously alarming, and underscores the reforms and new leadership we have been bringing to the Los Angeles Fire Department since January. Make no mistake, our city’s firefighters are heroes every day. We owe it to them and the people of Los Angeles to make sure that their fire department is led, organized and ready for whatever emergencies may arise.

Many investigations, and some ongoing, have been looking into the January wildfires. I am requesting that you thoroughly investigate this week’s report regarding the Lachman Fire. A full understanding of the Lachman Fire response is essential to an accurate accounting of what occurred during the January wildfires. This will continue to guide our ongoing reforms, which include enhancing pre-deployment protocols, strengthening interagency coordination, upgrading communications technology and expanding training at all staff levels.”

Earlier this month on Oct. 7, Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, of Melbourne, Florida, was arrested and charged with deliberately sparking the Lachman Fire along a hiking trail shortly after midnight on Jan. 1.

If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.