Firefighters gave sharply conflicting testimony Monday in the federal arson trial of a man accused of igniting a brush fire that prosecutors say later grew into the devastating Palisades Fire in Los Angeles, with one witness recalling fireworks before the blaze and another denying he saw or heard any.
Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, is accused of sparking a small brush fire in the Pacific Palisades area on Jan. 1, 2025, which prosecutors allege later reignited and developed into one of California’s most destructive wildfires. He has pleaded not guilty.
