Firefighters who were mopping up a New Year's Day brush fire that authorities now say flared into the deadly Palisades Fire warned a battalion chief there were signs the blaze was still smoldering, but they were directed to leave the area anyway, it was reported Thursday.
Want to get caught up on what's happening in SoCal every weekday afternoon? Click to follow The L.A. Local wherever you get podcasts.
Citing text messages among three firefighters and another person, the Los Angeles Times reported that a firefighter warned a battalion chief on Jan. 2 that it was a "bad idea" to leave the scene of the Lachman Fire that had been set early the previous day near Pacific Palisades, because there were signs of smoldering terrain.
Despite those concerns, the crews were told to leave the area, The Times reported.
Another firefighter said in a January text that crews were surprised at being told to roll up their hoses and leave the scene of the 8-acre Lachman Fire, noting that tree stumps were still hot at the location, according to The Times. Another firefighter recently texted that crew members were upset about being told to leave, but they could not disobey orders. The firefighter also wrote that he and other firefighters knew immediately when the Palisades Fire erupted Jan. 7 that it was a rekindling of the earlier Lachman Fire.
Various city and Los Angeles Fire Department officials failed to respond to requests for comment from The Times.
Earlier this month, 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht was arrested for allegedly setting the Lachman Fire in the early morning hours of Jan. 1. Prosecutors contend that despite that fire being doused, it continued to smolder underground and was reignited by fierce Santa Ana winds on Jan. 7, becoming the deadly Palisades Fire that wiped out much of the upscale Pacific Palisades community.
Rinderknecht was charged with one count of destruction of property by means of fire, one count of arson affecting property used in interstate commerce, and one count of timber set afire. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is due back in federal court Nov. 12 in downtown Los Angeles.
Prosecutors contend that the Palisades Fire was a "holdover" fire, or a continuation of the Lachman Fire allegedly set by Rinderknecht.
Fire officials have defended the agency's handling of the Lachman Fire, saying the underground smoldering was "undetectable."
Interim LAFD Chief Ronnie Villanueva told The Times previously that firefighters assigned to the Lachman Fire remained at the scene for more than 36 hours to ensure the blaze was fully contained and to snuff out hot spots. He also contended that firefighters returned to the area Jan. 3 to again check for smoldering and hot spots after receiving reports of smoke in the area.
"We went back over there again. We dug it all out again. ... We did everything that we could do -- cold-trail again," he told the paper. "We did all of that."
The Times reported Thursday that the LAFD did not respond to the paper's request for dispatch records to corroborate that firefighters returned to the scene on Jan. 3.
The Palisades Fire burned 23,448 acres and destroyed much of the exclusive community, destroying about 6,800 structures and killing 12 people.
Follow KNX News 97.1 FM