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Firefighters working the site of a small brush fire in Los Angeles that officials said later reignited into the devastating Palisades Fire were ordered to leave the original burn scene despite tree stumps there being hot to the touch, according to a review of firefighter text messages by the Los Angeles Times.
The newspaper, citing the texts, reported that the firefighters’ battalion chief told them to pack up their hoses and depart the area on Jan. 2, one day after the Lachman Fire was declared contained. Then on Jan. 7, heavy winds reignited smoldering roots from the same area, sparking the Palisades Fire, which burned some 7,000 structures and killed 12 people.
One firefighter wrote in January that crews at Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) Station 69 in the Pacific Palisades were surprised they were given the order to depart the area, the Times reported. The firefighter was informed that tree stumps were still hot at the site when the crews moved out, according to the newspaper’s review of the texts.
The newspaper also reported that a different firefighter said in a text message this month that crews were upset when they were ordered to leave the scene, but they couldn’t ignore orders.
PALISADES FIRE SUSPECT HAS COURTROOM OUTBURST WHILE PLEADING NOT GUILTY AT ARRAIGNMENT
A firefighter battles the Palisades Fire as it burns during a windstorm on the west side of Los Angeles, Calif., on Jan. 7, 2025. (Ringo Chiu/Reuters/TPX Images of the Day)
In another text, a firefighter who was at the site on Jan. 2 said the battalion chief was informed it was a “bad idea” to leave the burn scar unprotected because of visible signs of smoldering terrain, according to the Times.
The newspaper cited other text messages as saying that firefighters were complaining that commanders failed to make sure the mop-up duty at the site was complete.
The LAFD did not immediately respond Friday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
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Firefighters watch the flames from the Palisades Fire burning a home during a powerful windstorm on Jan. 8, 2025 in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Calif. (Apu Gomes/Getty Images)
“The January 7 fire was not a rekindle or due to failed suppression but the reactivation of an undetectable holdover fire under extraordinary wind conditions,” LAFD Interim Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva said earlier this month.
“Holdover fires can be nearly impossible to detect with infrared imaging, as smoldering often occurs deep below the surface, especially in chaparral terrain where dense root systems conceal residual heat. Under extreme winds, low humidity, and prolonged drought, these fires can reignite despite full suppression and containment efforts,” he added.
A drone image shows damage from the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles on Jan. 28, 2025. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
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Jonathan Rinderknecht, a 29-year-old from Florida, is facing federal charges in relation to the Palisades Fire.
Fox News Digital’s Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.