LA firefighter says he warned brush fire wasn't out before massive blaze ignited
#Los Angeles wildfire #firefighter testimony #Pacific Palisades fire #brush fire reignition #fire department lawsuit #Jonathan Rinderknecht
📌 Key Takeaways
- LA firefighter warned of smoldering ground days before massive fire
- Testimony was part of lawsuit by fire victims against the city
- January 2025 fire killed 12 people and destroyed over 17,000 buildings
- Fire department allegedly failed to properly extinguish original brush fire
📖 Full Retelling
Los Angeles firefighter Scott Pike testified in a newly released deposition that he warned colleagues the ground was still smoldering from a brush fire days before it reignited into the most destructive blaze in city history, according to testimony made public on February 27, 2026. Pike, a Los Angeles Fire Department firefighter, told investigators he could feel heat coming off the ground and heard crackling when he was sent to clean up after a New Year's Day brush fire in the hillsides near the scenic Pacific Palisades neighborhood on January 2, 2025. 'I could feel the heat coming off of it, and I didn't even want to use my gloved hand because it was hot, so I just kicked it with my boot to kind of expose it. And there was like red hot, like coals,' Pike stated in the deposition. The testimony emerged as part of a lawsuit filed by fire victims against the city, with Pike being the only one of a dozen firefighters who indicated they had warned that the blaze had not been fully extinguished when they left the scene. The massive wildfire that erupted on January 7, 2025, left 12 dead in Pacific Palisades and Malibu, was part of two blazes that killed over 30 people total and destroyed more than 17,000 homes and buildings while burning for days in Los Angeles County. Federal prosecutors have charged Jonathan Rinderknecht with starting the original fire, though he has pleaded not guilty, with his attorney claiming he's being used as a scapegoat for the fire department's alleged failure to fully extinguish the blaze.
🏷️ Themes
Fire Safety, Legal Accountability, Disaster Response
📚 Related People & Topics
Palisades Fire
2025 wildfire in Southern California, US
The Palisades Fire was a highly destructive wildfire that began in the Santa Monica Mountains of Los Angeles County on January 7, 2025, and grew to destroy large areas of Pacific Palisades, Topanga, and Malibu before it was fully contained on January 31. One of a series of wildfires in Southern Cali...
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LA firefighter says he warned brush fire wasn't out before massive blaze ignited A Los Angeles firefighter has testified that the ground was still smoldering from a brush fire days before a massive wildfire exploded last year in Pacific Palisades By The Associated Press February 27, 2026, 3:49 PM LOS ANGELES -- A Los Angeles firefighter testified in a newly released deposition that he told colleagues the ground was still smoldering from a brush fire days before authorities say it reignited into the most destructive blaze in city history. Scott Pike, a firefighter with the Los Angeles Fire Department, said he told colleagues the ground was still hot on Jan. 2 when he was sent in to help clean up a New Year's Day brush in the hillsides near the scenic Pacific Palisades neighborhood, the Los Angeles Times reported . Pike's comments came in a sworn deposition taken in a lawsuit that was filed by fire victims. The deposition and those of other fire officials were made public this week after city attorneys had moved to keep it confidential for a month. “I could feel the heat coming off of it, and I didn’t even want to use my gloved hand because it was hot, so I just kicked it with my boot to kind of expose it. And there was like red hot, like coals,” Pike said in the deposition, according to video published by KNBC-TV. “I even heard crackling.” “I felt like I got kind of blown off a little bit,” Pike said. “I saw something, I said something.” Alexander Robertson, an attorney for the fire victims, said he obtained a court order to depose a dozen firefighters tasked with mopping up the Jan. 1 fire. Pike was the only one who indicated fire officials had been warned the blaze had not been fully extinguished when they packed up and left the scene, Robertson said. The fire, which left 12 dead in the hillside neighborhoods across Pacific Palisades and Malibu, was one of two blazes that broke out on Jan. 7, 2025, killing more than 30 people in all and destroying over 17,000 homes...
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