Posted: 1/20/2025 8:46:56 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Trollslayer][Edited]
|
Has anyone heard anything official regarding the cause of the Palisades or Eaton fires? I heard reports on each but don't believe either was official/final. Also, I don't believe either, especially the Palisades "it smouldered for a week" explanation. Today, someone started a fire in Griffith Park. It was quickly extinguished and the arsonist was captured. No details on the suspect have been released,... none. Why not? We need to know who's doing this and why. I'm not seeing anything in the news, so I thought I ask here. |
Joined:
Dec 2022
Posts:
249
EE: 0% (0)
CA, USA
|
Originally Posted By turbolarry: There is nothing "official" and I doubt anything will be official for at least one year. Investigations take time especially with the amount of liability at stake. I think they started investigating as soon as it was/is safe. Besides any potential for civil or criminal liability, these events will likely drive serious review of land management, building codes, power and water distribution systems. Some thing or somethings went wrong and these fires weren't controlled and extinguished quickly. Neither the Palisades nor Altadena are all that different from a lot of other communities adjacent to the SoCal wildlands areas. This level of disaster doesn't happen often but this suggestsit could happen again. |
| Give it ten months. The California government will be sure to blame it on PG&E or Edison or whatever the power-delivery company is down there. It's certainly not due to anything within the government's control like forest management, homeless population controls, or known environmental anarchists. |
| One of the fires, not sure which one, the power company was immediately blamed. Then the power company showed that the lines in that area had been deenergized. The based the initial assumption on video showing the fire starting at the base of the tower. Pretty sure that one was arson and an atempt to blame the power grid. Started by some greenie by chance? |
"Go low, go slow and preferrably in the dark", the old Sarge.
"Every man needs at least one good rifle and know how to use it," Dad.
"Every man needs at least one good rifle and know how to use it," Dad.
|
Originally Posted By Trollslayer: Area around Castaic Lake is on fire right now. There are lots of people up there after decades of development. Ive been wondering how this one started. We’re in Santa Clarita and are in the yellow evac warning zone. In for a long night… |
|
We are having too many fires in rapid succession. They all seem to be strategically placed such that there's no one around the point of origin but the wind blows them into heavily populated or important areas. Our officials will have to prove to me these are not deliberate arson and/or terrorism (domestic and/or foreign). |
|
About a week ago, after the bigger fires subsided a lot, I hosed down all the hard surfaces surrounding my house. It was amazing how much ash had accumulated but was nearly invisible on the concrete. The other amazing thing was how much of an improvement it made to my air quality. I've been working outside and this really, really helped. I also hosed of my trees and bushes. They perked up amazingly. The lawns and hillside get sprinkler irrigation, so they got their cleaning a while before. Last night's rain finally cleaned off my roof. When it first started to rain, you could smell the smoke, again, from the wet ash fall. That ended and my home is now clean. I also took my car to the car wash to get the ash cleaned off (which is why it actually rained,  ). |
|
[b]. I also took my car to the car wash to get the ash cleaned off (which is why it actually rained, ).If this is true, you are way behind in washing your car. Get with the program! |
"Go low, go slow and preferrably in the dark", the old Sarge.
"Every man needs at least one good rifle and know how to use it," Dad.
"Every man needs at least one good rifle and know how to use it," Dad.
|
Heard a theory lately was a contributing factor to how bad they were was due in part to how much rain was received prior. More rain, better, more lush growth. However, it wasn’t sustained, so all that extra growth dried out and added that much more to the tinder box. I am not married to that, nor do I posit it as a fact, but it does make me think. I am visiting end if April to check areas out to possibly move to so I’m watching things like this carefully. |
“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”
? George Orwell, 1984
? George Orwell, 1984
|
That situation is generally accepted as factual, more rain = more chaparral to burn. I'd like to know why there wasn't a mandatory fire break between the wilderness and the houses. I keep 100 yards in my head as a reasonable amount of space to keep clear of all brush and even free of grass. It may not be adequate with 100 mph winds, but then, again, it just might be. However, those things are NOT a cause. |
|
Originally Posted By Koa: Oprah's space laser. It must be that. I have not seen or heard of any investigation into the causes for these fires. It is noticeable by its absence. The lives of so many people were so badly damaged by these fires, I think our elected officials should be on top of this - daily progress reports, etc. |
| All the ambulance chasers are blaming SoCal Edison for the Eaton fire. I'm not watching the Palisades fire discussions. It's excessively overlayed with political wrangling. A legitimate "cause" has not been established for the Eaton fire. I don't think the investigating is done yet. Perhaps the same for Palisades. Both fires will be wrangled in court for years over inadequate water supply systems (with or without empty reservoirs), failure to keep systems up to modern demands, failure to enforce code requirements, all that. The taxpayers/ratepayers will pay for it. |
|
All of that noise is after the fact. Was Palisades caused by a homeless person camping up in the chaparral, a deliberate terrorist attack, a firefighter who's actually a pyromaniac, some stupid kid doing something he shouldn't have,...? Don't politicize, it. Tell us the truth, however painful. WE NEED TO KNOW. |
|
Wikapedia: The link between the Lachman Fire and the Palisades Fire is reportedly under investigation, as the two fires started in the same location along the Temescal Ridge.[99][100][102] Analyses of satellite imagery suggest that the Palisades Fire started close to the burn scar of the Lachman Fire, a claim corroborated by some residents.[101][102][103] Assistant Chief Joe Everett of the LAFD expressed skepticism about the possibility of reignition after the cold-trailing operation and 36-hour patrol that followed the Lachman Fire. Ed Nordskog, a former arson investigator for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, noted that embers can stay buried until a wind event sets them free.[99] Michael Gollner, a fire scientist and professor of mechanical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, stated that "It's certainly possible that something from that previous fire, within a week, had rekindled and caused the ignition."[102] Palisades residents interviewed by the Los Angeles Times reported smelling smoke on the morning of January 7, prior to the appearance of the first flames at 10:15 a.m.[99] A hiker on the trails near Skull Rock reported smelling smoke at 9 a.m.[102] In an interview with The New York Times, another resident, hiking an hour before the eruption of the Palisades Fire, reported seeing smoke wafting in the area near the burn scar of the New Year's fire.[101] |
|
Originally Posted By Blowout: Wikapedia: The link between the Lachman Fire and the Palisades Fire is reportedly under investigation, as the two fires started in the same location along the Temescal Ridge.[99][100][102] Analyses of satellite imagery suggest that the Palisades Fire started close to the burn scar of the Lachman Fire, a claim corroborated by some residents.[101][102][103] Assistant Chief Joe Everett of the LAFD expressed skepticism about the possibility of reignition after the cold-trailing operation and 36-hour patrol that followed the Lachman Fire. Ed Nordskog, a former arson investigator for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, noted that embers can stay buried until a wind event sets them free.[99] Michael Gollner, a fire scientist and professor of mechanical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, stated that "It's certainly possible that something from that previous fire, within a week, had rekindled and caused the ignition."[102] Palisades residents interviewed by the Los Angeles Times reported smelling smoke on the morning of January 7, prior to the appearance of the first flames at 10:15 a.m.[99] A hiker on the trails near Skull Rock reported smelling smoke at 9 a.m.[102] In an interview with The New York Times, another resident, hiking an hour before the eruption of the Palisades Fire, reported seeing smoke wafting in the area near the burn scar of the New Year's fire.[101] That the fire could or would "rekindle" after both a determined firefighting effort to extinguish the initial blaze, a follow-up 36 hours later and then a week's delay renders this hypothetical cause to the category of bullshit... umm... err... I mean... farfetched. |
|
Originally Posted By Featureless: All the ambulance chasers are blaming SoCal Edison for the Eaton fire. I'm not watching the Palisades fire discussions. It's excessively overlayed with political wrangling. A legitimate "cause" has not been established for the Eaton fire. I don't think the investigating is done yet. Perhaps the same for Palisades. Both fires will be wrangled in court for years over inadequate water supply systems (with or without empty reservoirs), failure to keep systems up to modern demands, failure to enforce code requirements, all that. The taxpayers/ratepayers will pay for it. Cause if Eaton Fire - I saw this just tonight. It seems the US DOJ is certain enough about the cause that they have filed suit against SCE. According to the spokesman, this is the only known probable cause. Local residents were eyewitnesses to the start. Link to ABC7 news article. The videos of the fire imbedded at that link are pretty dramatic. |
|
Cause of Palisades Fire - A 29-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of igniting a fire that eventually turned into the destructive Palisades Fire, federal and local law enforcement authorities announced Wednesday. Jonathan Rinderknecht, a former resident of Pacific Palisades, was taken into custody Tuesday near his Florida home for destruction of property by means of fire, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli. According to the federal criminal complaint, Rinderknecht started the Lachman Fire in the early morning hours of Jan. 1 after working as an Uber driver the night before. "Although firefighters suppressed the blaze, the fire continues to smolder and burn underground within the root structure of the dense vegetation...," Essayli said during a press conference Wednesday morning. "It smoldered underground for about a week until on January 7, heavy winds caused this underground fire to surface and spread above ground, causing what became known as the Palisades Fire - one of the most destructive fires in Los Angeles City history." Rinderknecht is expected to make an appearance in federal court in Orlando, Florida Wednesday. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison. Federal prosecutors allege that the suspect's ChatGPT log shows he created an image depicting a burning forest and crowds fleeing it. ETA updates to ABCNews article Timeline of Rinderknecht's alleged actions leading up to fire Rinderknecht started the Lachman Fire in the early morning hours of Jan. 1 after working as an Uber driver the night before, according to the federal criminal complaint. Essayli said two of his passengers told law enforcement that he appeared agitated and angry that night. After he dropped off a passenger in the Pacific Palisades, Essayli said Rinderknecht parked his car and tried but failed to contact a former friend. Then, Rinderknecht exited his car, walked up a trail, took iPhone videos from a nearby hilltop and listened to a "rap song, whose music video included objects being lit on fire." Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli outlined Jonathan Rinderknecht's movements before, during and after the Lachman Fire ignited, which eventually became the Palisades Fire. Essayli said Rinderknecht listened to the song and watched the music video repeatedly in the days leading up to the Lachman fire. After the Lachman Fire ignited, Rinderknecht called 911 to report the blaze, fled the scene in his car but turned around when he saw fire engines approach, Essayli said. "While the Lachman Fire burned, the defendant walked up the same trail from earlier that night to watch the fire and firefighters," Essayli said, adding that Rinderknecht recorded video of the scene using his iPhone. Link to ABC7 news article. |
|
This story just keeps getting worse and worse. Now, it appears the firefighting effort for the initial Jan 1st fire was deliberately restricted by CA State Park officials. "... a California State Parks representative told them “they couldn’t bring a bulldozer in to cut a line around the fire and they could not do mop-up with their hand tools, dig up around any native plant species.” “They basically put plants over people and wouldn’t let the firefighters attempt to fully mop up this fire.” Link to source |
|
Yet another damning report on the firefighting response to the Lachman fire and the subsequent Palisades fire. There are two additional reports embedded in the linked source article. (Link to source) Photos contradict California’s denial of involvement in Palisades Fire response Rich McHugh Updated: Nov 19, 2025 / 05:49 AM CST Photos contradict California’s denial of involvement in Palisades Fire response | Vargas Reports (NewsNation) — Photographs obtained by NewsNation directly contradict California’s claims that the state was not involved in monitoring the fire that ultimately became the deadly Palisades blaze, adding to mounting questions about officials’ handling of the disaster. The photo, taken at 2:43 p.m. on Jan. 1, shows a California State Parks representative speaking with a battalion chief and two other firefighters at the Lachman Fire burn scar — the same fire whose underground embers would reignite six days later to become the Palisades Fire that killed 12 people and destroyed 6,800 structures. The image contradicts statements made by state attorneys in court, where they denied any state involvement in the fire response. Photographs obtained by NewsNation directly contradict California’s claims that the state was not involved in monitoring the fire that ultimately became the deadly Palisades blaze, adding to mounting questions about officials’ handling of the disaster. Courtesy: Michael McNellis “We brought up to the judge that we had received reports of a state park representative being on-site at the Lachman burn scar speaking with firefighters, and the state lawyer stood up and told the court this was the first he had heard of it, and he thought it was ridiculous. And that just didn’t happen,” said Roger Behle, an attorney representing three thousand Palisades Fire victims. The photo is the latest piece of evidence challenging the state’s narrative about its role in the fire response. A spokesperson for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office previously told NewsNation: “The state didn’t start this fire (that was an arsonist) and the state wasn’t responsible for responding to or monitoring this fire.” In court documents, the state also claimed it was not notified of the fire. However, Los Angeles Fire Department call logs obtained by NewsNation show the state was notified and sent a parks representative within hours of the Lachman Fire starting in the early morning of Jan. 1. Behle said documents show a state parks representative returned to the burn scar the next day and told firefighters they could not bulldoze the area. “The state’s narrative that they had nothing to do with it, and it’s some other agency’s fault, it’s their responsibility, it’s not ours, flies in the face of the evidence,” Behle told NewsNation. “The state was deeply involved in what was done at the Lachman Fire burn site, as evidenced by the photographs and the documents that we’ve obtained.” The revelations add to a series of missteps that have emerged in recent weeks. Text messages showed firefighters warned it was “a bad idea” to leave the smoldering fire on Jan. 2 but were ordered to pack up anyway. Video from hikers showed the fire still smoldering days later, with 911 calls about smoke going unanswered. Newsom initially said he predeployed fire trucks to Southern California, but Cal FIRE later said it did not predeploy a single truck to the Palisades. Mayor Karen Bass has requested a thorough investigation into the Lachman Fire response. |
|
This is the latest article on the start of the Eaton fire. Disused Power Line Sparks Fire |
|
I went to the club range a few weeks ago. The Edison crews were out there trimming the trees directly beneath the power lines. When I look at their work, seems to be a bad joke. The trees tops are now 8-10 feet above the road way but many are rooted down in a gully and are much taller than 8 feet. They made no attempt to remove the chaparral (the tinder). If they want to prevent fires, they need to scratch down to bare earth, not have 8 foot tall trees and chaparral under the power lines. They need a bulldozer not a chain saw. Then again, hey! what do I know, eh? |