California Wildfires Palisades Investigation

A federal judge has ruled that attorneys for the man accused of sparking last year’s deadly Palisades Fire in and around Los Angeles can’t introduce evidence or arguments at his arson trial about alleged negligence by the fire department in responding to an earlier blaze. Jonathan Rinderknecht has pleaded not guilty to starting what became one of the most destructive wildfires in California history. Prosecutors say Rinderknecht started a fire on Jan. 1, 2025, that burned undetected before flaring back up a week later. Judge Anne Hwang ruled during a pretrial hearing Wednesday that defense attorneys can't refer to depositions by fire department members and a state park ranger that were used in a lawsuit because they could confuse jurors.