LA Podcast - ChatGPT Didn't Start the Fire

Alissa, Mike, and Kate recount a dramatic week as an arson suspect is taken into custody for allegedly starting a fire which smoldered underground for a week, then rekindled in high winds to become the deadly Palisades Fire. Analysis of LAFD’s after-action report reveals more communications breakdowns. Plus, ballots for Prop 50 hit mailboxes.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, via Spotify, below, or wherever you get your podcasts.

SHOW NOTES

Former Palisades resident Jonathan Rinderknecht, also known as Jon Rinder, was arrested on a federal criminal complaint for starting what federal prosecutors allege eventually became the Palisades Fire

Los Angeles Times: “Florida man ‘maliciously’ started Palisades fire, then tried to cover his tracks, authorities allege”

Here’s the video he watched in the days before the fire: “Un Zder, Un The" by French artist Josman

What’s a “holdover” fire? LAist’s Jacob Margolis has a great explainer on how a fire can rekindle a week later

When the fires started, LA was in the “bottom two percent of historical records” for soil moisture readings

LAFD did not use thermal imaging to confirm the fire was out and least one fire expert (anonymously) claimed that cleanup from the Lachman Fire was not done properly. This raises more questions about liability: “This affidavit puts the responsibility on the fire department. There needs to be a commission examining why this rekindled fire was allowed to reignite,” said Ed Nordskog, former leader of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s arson unit. “The arsonist set the first fire, but the fire department proactively has a duty to do certain things”

Here’s LAFD’s after-action report on the Palisades Fire and good analysis by LAist

Alissa is, once again, worried about who is supposed to give warnings in LA County

Meanwhile, Rinderknecht might face the death penalty, and Kate reported at Spectrum that he’ll be back in court later this week

Listen to Kate’s Rebuilding LA podcast

LA Times: “Who is spending money on Prop 50?”

CalMatters has a good look at how Prop 50’s mid-decade redistricting would change representation in other ways

You should probably not mail in your ballot on the last day due to new USPS rules, so be sure to take it to the special ballot boxes. There is also a small mistake on the guide

LA Forward has a full schedule of Prop 50 events leading up to November 4, including a ballot party on Sunday, October 19 at 2 p.m. at the Hermosillo in Highland Park

Check out Mike Bonin's interview with California Environmental Voters ED Mike Young on "What's Next, Los Angeles?" about the good, the bad, and the ugly of this year's environmental legislation in Sacramento (Apple Podcasts, Spotify)

On the next What’s Next, Los Angeles?, Mike will be talking to Loyola Marymount University faculty members whose union was abruptly not recognized by leaders at the school claiming there was a “religious exemption”

This week’s show is produced by Olive Greenspan

The reporting and analysis you hear in the show is put together by our rotating cast of producers and co-hosts every week. All opinions expressed on the show are solely those of co-hosts and may not represent the views of LA Forward

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