A federal grand jury subpoena has been issued to the Los Angeles Fire Department seeking text messages and other information about smoke or hot spots from firefighters involved in the Jan. 1 Rahman brush fire that reignited the massive Palisades fire six days later, according to an internal memo.
The Times reported last week that a battalion chief ordered firefighters to pack up hoses and leave the burn area the day after the Rahman fire, despite complaints that the ground was still smoldering and the rocks were hot to the touch. In the memo, the department notified its employees of the subpoena, which it said was issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles.
“The subpoena seeks all communications, including text messages, related to reports of fire, smoke or hot spots received between 10 a.m. New Year’s Eve and 10 a.m. January 7,” the memo, dated Tuesday, said.
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to confirm whether a subpoena had been issued and had no comment. The memo does not include a copy of the subpoena.
The subpoena was issued in conjunction with an “ongoing criminal investigation” by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the memo said.
Last month, an ATF investigation led to the arrest of former Pacific Palisades resident Jonathan Rinderknecht, who is accused of intentionally setting a fire at the trailhead shortly after midnight on Jan. 1.
It was unclear from the memo whether the subpoena was directly related to the case against Lindknecht, who has pleaded not guilty.
During the Rinderknecht investigation, ATF agents concluded that the fire smoldering and burning underground “within a root structure of dense vegetation” for several days until strong winds triggered the fence inferno, according to an affidavit attached to the criminal complaint against Rinderknecht.
The Palisades Fire was the most destructive fire in the city’s history, killing 12 people and destroying thousands of homes, businesses and other structures.
Last week, The Times reported, citing text messages between firefighters, that crews fighting the Rahman fire warned battalion chiefs that remnants of the blaze were still smoldering.
Battalion Chief Mario Garcia, who was on duty the day firefighters were ordered to leave the Rahman fire, has not responded to a request for comment.
A firefighter at the scene wrote in a text message on Jan. 2 that the battalion chief was told it was a “bad idea” to leave because there were obvious signs of smoke on the terrain and firefighters were concerned that new fires could start if protective measures were not taken.
“The rest is history,” the firefighter wrote in recent weeks.
A second firefighter was told the stumps at the scene were still hot as crews packed up and left, according to text messages. A third firefighter said this month they were upset when crews were told to pack up and leave, but they couldn’t ignore the order, according to text messages. A third firefighter also wrote that he and his colleagues immediately knew the Palisades fire was a rekindle of the Jan. 1 fire.
The fire department has not responded to questions in text messages about firefighters’ accounts, but has previously said officials made every effort to ensure the Rahman fire was fully extinguished. The department has not yet provided dispatch records for all firefighting and sweep activities prior to Jan. 7.
After The Times published the report, Mayor Karen Bass directed interim Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva to investigate the matter, while critics of her administration called for an independent investigation.
