Firefighters responding to a small brush fire in Los Angeles, initially managed and believed to be under control, were instructed to vacate the site despite lingering hot spots, according to an investigation of firefighter communications by the Los Angeles Times. This decision preceded the resurgence of flames that escalated into the catastrophic Palisades Fire.
According to the newspaper’s findings from firefighter text messages, a battalion chief ordered crews to dismantle their equipment and leave the site on January 2, a day after the Lachman Fire was declared contained. However, on January 7, powerful winds fanned the embers of tree stumps, igniting the Palisades Fire, which ultimately destroyed approximately 7,000 structures and claimed the lives of 12 individuals.
The Los Angeles Times reports that personnel at Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) Station 69 in Pacific Palisades expressed surprise at the directive to withdraw. These firefighters were aware that the site still contained hot stumps when they left, as revealed in their text messages.
Further, the publication notes that another firefighter mentioned in a recent message that while the teams were frustrated by the order to leave, they felt compelled to comply with the directives given.
An image captures the intensity as a firefighter valiantly combats the Palisades Fire amid a fierce windstorm on the west side of Los Angeles, California, on January 7, 2025. (Photo by Ringo Chiu/Reuters/TPX Images of the Day)
In a separate message, a firefighter present on January 2 indicated that the battalion chief had been warned that abandoning the burn scar was risky due to clear signs of smoldering, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The newspaper cited other text messages as saying that firefighters were complaining that commanders failed to make sure the mop-up duty at the site was complete.
The LAFD did not immediately respond Friday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Firefighters watch the flames from the Palisades Fire burning a home during a powerful windstorm on Jan. 8, 2025 in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Calif. (Apu Gomes/Getty Images)
“The January 7 fire was not a rekindle or due to failed suppression but the reactivation of an undetectable holdover fire under extraordinary wind conditions,” LAFD Interim Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva said earlier this month.
“Holdover fires can be nearly impossible to detect with infrared imaging, as smoldering often occurs deep below the surface, especially in chaparral terrain where dense root systems conceal residual heat. Under extreme winds, low humidity, and prolonged drought, these fires can reignite despite full suppression and containment efforts,” he added.
A drone image shows damage from the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles on Jan. 28, 2025. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Jonathan Rinderknecht, a 29-year-old from Florida, is facing federal charges in relation to the Palisades Fire.
