Los Angeles City Councilmember Traci Park joined Palisades community leaders and residents on Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 8, after the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht was arrested on suspicion of sparking the Palisades fire, which took the lives of 12 people and destroyed more than 6,800 structures.

Residents said news of the arrest confirmed some of their suspicions that the Palisades fire was a continuation — a so-called “holdover” blaze — of the Lachman fire on Jan 1., which is what Rinderknecht was accused of starting.

Rinderknecht was charged on Wednesday, but determining any guilt to the government’s allegations will still be a long road.

Experts say federal prosecutors will need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the Palisades fire act

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