Uber Driver Accused of Starting Palisades Fire

Federal authorities announced the arrest of an Uber driver accused of intentionally starting a small fire that ultimately transformed into a massive blaze that ravaged the Pacific Palisades in January, killing 12 people and destroying thousands of homes.

The criminal complaint, filed Wednesday, charges 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht with “malicious destruction of property by means of fire.” The Justice Department alleges that Rinderknecht set a fire in Topanga State Park early on New Year’s Day, shortly after dropping off a passenger nearby. While firefighters suppressed that fire, investigators concluded that the fire continued to smolder underground in the root structure ...