PALISADES FIRE ORIGIN
A Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) National 15-member team was deployed to investigate the Pacific Palisades Fire on the weekend of January 11 and 12. That team joined ATF-certified investigators already on site.
People speculated that the cause of the January 7 fire was homeless. But after cleaning out numerous homeless camps in Pacific Palisades, this seemed unlikely, because the site was too far up, with no place to get “groceries.” The homeless would have been reported to the Pacific Palisades Task Force on Homelessness, who would have contacted LAPD. Law Enforcement does not allow the homeless to camp in very high fire hazard severity zones, which encompasses the entire Palisades.
The second theory for the start of the fire was there were hikers, possibly an arsonist up in the area that were seen coming off the trailhead shortly after the fire started. CTN was not able to speak to a hiker(s) until today, March 24, at informal gathering at a coffee shop (Hive) in Marina del Rey.
When ATF was investigating, they urged hikers who were near Skull Rock that morning to contact them, which is what Fiske Street Resident Thomas James (not the housebuilder) did.
Earlier that morning James had hiked Potrero and was interested in the lenticular clouds (lens-shaped clouds that form when strong winds flow over mountains). He decided to hike on the Highlands Skull Rock Trailhead to get a better viewpoint. Once there, he decided to hike further up the trail to the towers. As he was about halfway up, he saw a mountain biker coming down.
When James turned at the towers to come back down, he saw a smoke plume. He tried to call 911, but because there was no cell phone reception, he couldn’t get through. He continued to dial as he came back down the hill. As he reached the Highlands, he finally got through to 911, but it was in Spanish. He cut the call and dialed again, and was finally successful around 10:40 after 15 tries (according to his call log).
By then the fire had been reported, but James speculates that had he been able to get through on 911 earlier, it might have made a difference. He said he didn’t see any other hikers in the area around that time.
He returned to his home on Fiske and watched the smoke and the advance of the fire. He was among other residents who said there were no fire fighting efforts on the east front of the fire.
When ATF was investigating, they were seeking information from hikers and residents and James spoke to them. The investigators took him to where he had hiked and also the burn scar, the site where the fire started, in a four-wheeler.
They looked at the cameras on poles (cameras have taken the place of fire towers) click here, to see if they were working.
Someone had sent CTN a photo of Temescal Trail Head 1 at 10:32 and it shows heavy smoke. A question “Is anyone monitoring the cameras?”
Was anyone monitoring the cameras?
James said while with the ATF team member, they drove by the scar and there were other ATF guys lying on the ground, searching.
James feels this fire could have been prevented had firefighters or officials been watching the January 1 burn scar or if someone had just put flame retardant on it prior to January 7, given the prediction of high winds.
ATF has still not released the report about the cause of the fire.
(Editor’s note: The fire could have been prevented if police had stopped the kids with fireworks, which had gone for nearly two years. A fireworks fire had started on the side of Temescal Canyon Road in October 2023.
Even if that was not done, the burn scar could have been monitored. With predictions of heavy winds, if the burn scar was not going to be watched, fire retardant could have been sprayed on the burn scar.
Once the fire started, no one seemed to be in command and there was no one on the Eastern flank of the fire.
Electrical power was never turned off in the Palisades. The Reservoir(s) were empty. It took time to get personal on scene. For example, fire companies from Long Beach told this editor that it took them an hour and a half in traffic to get to the site.
Fires continued to burn on January 8 and 9, destroying more homes. The video shows that the Methodist Church was still standing at 11:47 a.m. January 8. One of the excuses for putting out fires was lack of water. There were swimming pools in many backyards and the Palisades High School pool on Temescal, could have been used. They were not and why?)
Sue,
I remember seeing a photo of a teenager, who it has been told, that he was responsible for setting off the firecrackers on New Year’s Eve night.
I am also under the impression that the LAPD is currently looking for this fellow.
Any thoughts.
Keep up with your fabulous work.
Love to all,
Peter F. Culhane
Was the biker masked? Hooded? Identifiable? Color of bike? Style of bike?..cameras are everywhere.
Firefighting 101: using common sense, the most likely place you could have a fire is where you had a fire several days earlier : who’s in charge ?
The “lack of water” excuse doesn’t hold any water anymore after Caruso and the Musckingham private fire contractors managed to put out 100% of the fires they were hired to put out while the LAPD sat on their rears. It seem more the lack of will, ingenuity and courage by the firefighters who chose to “fight the fires” sipping coffee on the beach and joyriding around the Palisades taking selfies for three days is the real cause of our tragedy.