Devastating fires in Los Angeles Nine months after deadly Palisades fire - police arrest Uber driver
Destroyed houses as far as the eye can see: Pacific Palisades after the Palisades Fire. (January 27, 2025)
Image: Keystone/AP Photo/Jae C. Hong
Thousands of firefighters are battling the flames.
Image: Ethan Swope/AP/dpa
Numerous residents tried to leave affected areas.
Image: Damian Dovarganes/AP/dpa
The Palisades Fire burns a residential building in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. Photo: Ethan Swope/FR171736 AP/dpa
Image: sda
Firefighters extinguish a burning building on Lake Avenue in downtown Altadena. Photo: Chris Pizzello/AP/dpa
Image: sda
A helicopter drops water on the Thompson fire
Image: dpa
A woman walks along a street while the Thompson Fire burns
Image: dpa
Burning vehicles during the Thompson Fire
Image: dpa
Emergency services are also fighting the forest fires from the air.
Image: dpa
Destroyed houses as far as the eye can see: Pacific Palisades after the Palisades Fire. (January 27, 2025)
Image: Keystone/AP Photo/Jae C. Hong
Thousands of firefighters are battling the flames.
Image: Ethan Swope/AP/dpa
Numerous residents tried to leave affected areas.
Image: Damian Dovarganes/AP/dpa
The Palisades Fire burns a residential building in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. Photo: Ethan Swope/FR171736 AP/dpa
Image: sda
Firefighters extinguish a burning building on Lake Avenue in downtown Altadena. Photo: Chris Pizzello/AP/dpa
Image: sda
A helicopter drops water on the Thompson fire
Image: dpa
A woman walks along a street while the Thompson Fire burns
Image: dpa
Burning vehicles during the Thompson Fire
Image: dpa
Emergency services are also fighting the forest fires from the air.
Image: dpa
Nine months after the devastating fires in the Los Angeles area, a 29-year-old man has been arrested. The authorities have charged him with arson. He is alleged to have caused the Palisades fire.
09.10.2025, 05:53
09.10.2025, 06:17
SDA
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- Nine months after the devastating fire near Los Angeles, the authorities have arrested a suspected arsonist.
- The fire in Pacific Palisades killed twelve people and destroyed thousands of homes.
- The suspect is said to have grown up in France and was living in Pacific Palisades at the time of the fires around Los Angeles.
A good nine months after the outbreak of the fires that raged for weeks in the greater Los Angeles area, a man has been arrested on charges of arson. The 29-year-old is alleged to have caused a fire last New Year's Day that turned into the devastating Palisades fire a few days later, according to the chief federal prosecutor in Southern California, Bill Essayli.
The fire in Pacific Palisades on the western edge of Los Angeles was initially extinguished by firefighters on New Year's Day, but it continued to smolder underground and spread in high winds on Jan. 7, investigators said.
The suspect, who now lives in the US state of Florida, is accused of deliberately setting the fire in the luxurious neighborhood overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Among other things, an image of a burning city created with ChatGPT was found on the man's electronic devices. Investigators also referred to videos from surveillance cameras, witness statements and other possible evidence.
Fire department was in action for weeks
The suspect grew up in France and was living in Pacific Palisades at the time of the fires around Los Angeles, reports Hollywood industry portal The Wrap. He later moved to Florida.
Two major fires, the Palisades Fire on the western edge of Los Angeles and the so-called Eaton Fire near Pasadena and Altadena, destroyed more than 16,000 buildings at the beginning of the year. At the time, the fire department was deployed on a large scale for weeks to contain the fires. At least 31 people lost their lives.
