LA Palisades firebug’s arrest isn’t a relief — it launches a reckoning

On Wednesday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom assured us that the arrest of Jonathan Rinderknecht, the alleged arsonist who set the most destructive wildfire in Los Angeles history, brought “closure” to the “thousands of Californians whose lives were upended.”

He couldn’t be more wrong.

Rinderknecht’s arrest isn’t an end to the January tragedy that killed 12 of my neighbors and wiped out 7,000 Pacific Palisades homes and businesses.

It is just the beginning of a reckoning for California — and for the nation.

Why? Because as the investigation and prosecution unfolds, the tentacles of the case will force us to face up to the mess we’ve gotten ourselves into on multiple fronts. 

The devastating Palisades Fire, which blazed out of control for nearly three weeks, was a damning indictment of LA’s irresponsible leadership, with empty reservoirs and a missing mayor.

But we haven’t yet talked much about the missing firefighters.

At least 3% of Los Angeles County firefighters lived outside the state as of 2022 — many of them senior commanders.

They reside in border states like Arizona or Nevada, and even as far away as Florida and Alaska.

There they can afford to own homes and can send their children to schools that don’t replace math lessons with gender-identity quizzes.

They fly in to do a 7-to-12-day shift, then fly home for several weeks off.

Who could blame them, given the Golden State’s exorbitant cost of living?  

On the first night of the fires, when the winds turned a fever dream into a nightmare, the county put out an all-hands call for firefighters.

Everyone was asked to report to work as soon as possible, no exceptions.

But with 3% of the force residing in other states — and hundreds more firefighters living hours away, in Central and Northern California — the investigation may uncover some uncomfortable truths.

How many of our firefighters were missing in action as Rinderknecht’s fire raged beyond control?

How many homes burned because they could not take their posts when ordered?

Why hasn’t Los Angeles set any sort of residency requirement for its emergency personnel, like most other big cities do?

It’s not just about questionable employment tactics; it’s about the interconnectedness of every terrible progressive idea — which we now know can literally burn down entire neighborhoods.

How can we expect our first responders to protect us when it counts if they can’t even afford to live here?

Here’s another tentacle: The arsonist is a dual citizen, born and raised in France, who took up residence in the United States as an adult.    

President Donald Trump has made it his mission to wrestle with our illegal immigration problem, but as the arson arrest makes clear, America is going to need to take a long, hard look at its legal immigration system, too.

Rinderknecht’s chaos, the “despair and bitterness” of the rap song he had on repeat, should have been France’s problem, not ours.

America has enough of our own criminals and fringe lunatics. Why was this arsonist here at all?

Finally, the case could make us confront the insidious concern lurking underneath this arrest: the specter of terrorism.

Right now, the arson suspect is being dismissed as a lone wolf, but we’ve seen a concerning uptick in domestic terrorism since Trump was re-elected.

Is there a connection to the deliberate and despicable anti-government chaos we’re seeing today in Portland, Chicago and elsewhere?

Was Rinderknecht inspired by the online hatred that’s fueling violence all around us?

The accused arsonist was “agitated and angry,” witnesses say, and obsessed with “dystopian” visions.

What happened in Los Angeles County in January has a lot of the markers of domestic terrorism — yet another tentacle that could reach out far beyond California.

If it turns out Rinderknecht had connections to groups like Antifa, this case goes from bad to worse . . . for all of us. 

The arsonist will be held accountable, but his apprehension is not the end of anything. 

All eyes are on California these days, as Newsom dangles his presidential ambitions and Kamala Harris tours the country to remain relevant.

With the recent epic meltdown of gubernatorial candidate Katie Porter, the rest of America is being treated to the daily insanity we suffer at the hands of both our politicians and our criminals.

The fires, the fallout and the felonies are part of that larger story — and this state and our nation must now grapple with the consequences.

Kira Davis is an independent opinion journalist and podcaster living in Southern California.