Subject: Florida Man
...arrested for starting the Palisades fire. But get this, fireman put it out on the surface, and it smoldered underground for a week, ten started back up and became the Palisades fire.

SNIP 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.

"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."

During an interview Jan. 24, Rinderknecht told investigators where the fire began, information not yet public and that he would not have known if he hadn't witnessed it, the complaint said.

During an interview Jan. 24, Rinderknecht told investigators where the fire began, information not yet public and that he would not have known if he hadn't witnessed it, the complaint said.

He lied about his location, claiming he was near the bottom of the hiking trail, Essayli said. SNIP

https://abc7.com/post/departme...