‘The Big Money Show’ panel reacts to DOJ allegations in Pacific Palisades fire case and criticizes California’s failed leadership, saying victims are still waiting for justice and rebuilding assistance.
A man who fled from California to Florida has been accused of maliciously starting what eventually became known as Palisades FireAccording to the Justice Department, it is one of the most destructive wildfires in Los Angeles history.
Jonathan Rinderknecht, of Melbourne, Florida, was arrested Tuesday and charged with destruction of property by means of fire, according to the Justice Department.
Insured losses from the devastating Palisades Fire alone are estimated to be between $20 billion and $25 billion, according to a January report from Verisk’s Extreme Event Solutions group, a leading global provider of data analytics and technology for the insurance industry.
Who is Palisades fire suspect Jonathan Rinderknecht, who is accused of starting the deadly blaze?
In total, there were more than a dozen fires in several counties, but the Palisades and Eaton fires were the largest.
James Borough filed a claim the day the Palisades Fire burned down his home. (Sunny Tsai/FoxBusiness)
UCLA Anderson Forecast estimated in February that total property and capital losses from the Palisades and Eaton fires could range between $95 billion and $164 billion, including insured loss Estimated $75 billion.
California wildfires: Wells Fargo analysis shows insured losses could exceed $30B
During this time, financial Analyst Wells Fargo Securities released a report in January stating that their “base case” for insured losses due to all wildfires was $30 billion, adding that total losses could fall in the range between $20 billion and $40 billion.
The Wells Fargo analysis found that overall, about 85% of losses are expected to be covered by homeowners’ insurance policies, while 13.5% are commercial property and 1.5% are personal auto losses. The base case states that the average value of property in areas affected by wildfire is about $3 million.
Palisades Plumbing, a business that was destroyed in the Palisades fire. (Shavahan Ahmadi)
According to an affidavit filed with the federal criminal complaint, officials determined that the Palisades Fire was a “holdover” fire, meaning it was a continuation of the Lachman Fire that started on the morning of New Year’s Day 2025.
The Justice Department said that although the Lachman Fire was quickly suppressed without anyone knowing, it “continued to smolder and burn underground within the root structure of dense vegetation.”
Sources say arrest made in connection with deadly Pacific Palisades fire
On January 7, heavy winds brought an underground fire to the surface and spread above ground, causing widespread damage in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Andy Sands’ home still stands after the Palisades fire. (Andy Sands/FoxBusiness)
Law enforcement determined – based on witness statements, video surveillance, cellphone data and analysis of fire dynamics and patterns at the scene, among other things – that
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The Justice Department said Rinderknecht “maliciously set fire to Lachman” just after midnight on New Year’s Day on land owned by the Mountain Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA), the organization that receives federal funding. A week later, the same fire burned federal property, the Justice Department said.
