Overview
- At a Thursday courthouse news conference, attorneys for Jonathan Rinderknecht called for his immediate release and sought dismissal based on newly public depositions and videos from related civil litigation.
- LAFD firefighter Scott Pike testified he saw several areas still smoking and felt heat from red‑hot coals on Jan. 2 as crews prepared to leave the scene.
- A battalion chief testified he walked the perimeter multiple times that day and confirmed all hot spots were out, underscoring conflicting on‑scene accounts.
- Defense lawyers highlighted hiker videos showing smoldering days later and testimony that State Parks would patrol the burn scar, while a parks employee said he did not return.
- Rinderknecht remains jailed after two bond denials, has pleaded not guilty to three federal counts tied to the initial blaze, and LAFD Chief Jaime Moore has ordered an independent review of the Jan. 1 response.