Arson investigators from the ATF, LAPD, and LAFD converged at the suspected origin site of the deadly Palisades Fire on Monday afternoon.
ATF arson investigators have arrived at the suspected area near a hiking trail at The Summit of the Pacific Palisades. The investigation is related to the #PalisadesFire.
— Chris Cristi (@abc7chriscristi) January 13, 2025
ABC Los Angeles reports that 15 federal investigators came to Los Angeles last weekend. The area around Via La Costa is currently closed to the media as the investigation unfolds.
The Skull Rock Trailhead is close to Via La Costa, where a group of men were present before the fire broke out. Some individuals in the group shared videos on social media, although the original posts have since been deleted. However, copies of the videos were already saved.
Allegedly, this tiktokker was among the group who ran away or near start of Pacific Palisades fire. with some saying words like… “We were just there”. I want to give them benefit of doubt. He has deleted at least one of the videos since. pic.twitter.com/y5mwsh9Xha
— Woll Street (@paulwoll) January 13, 2025
LAPD sources have confirmed to RedStae that the department’s Robbery/Homicide division, LAFD’s Arson Counter-Terrorism Section, and the ATF are working collaboratively on the investigation.
Multiple arson fires or fires of suspicious origin have ignited in the area over the past four years after the LAPD, at the behest of now former City Councilman Mike Bonin, discontinued regular patrols of the Bluffs and the hillside areas. One of the officers who conducted those patrols, who was granted anonymity to speak freely, told RedState that he and his partner regularly removed homeless encampments from the area and that the patrols were a visible deterrent to fire-starting activity.
The most recent suspicious fire in the Palisades, again in The Summit area, occurred on New Year’s Eve.
In November, a fire that started just a half mile from the suspected start location of the current fire was quickly extinguished when more than 60 firefighters converged on the scene. An LAFD spokesperson commented that the situation would have been much different had the area been in a Santa Ana wind event at that time:
Los Angeles Fire Department [spokesperson] Margaret Stewart told KTLA News that this area is a challenge because there are no hydrants, but that water tenders (large trucks carrying water) were being sent to the area.
“Fortunately, we’re not in a Santa Ana event,” she said, “but the moisture level in our vegetation is critically low.”
That fire was adjacent to the Santa Ynez Reservoir, which was empty at the time of the current fire.
