A 29-year-old Florida man has been arrested on suspicion of arson in connection with the deadly Palisades Fire that scorched parts of Los Angeles earlier this year, officials said Wednesday.

Los Angeles

Authorities in Los Angeles have announced the arrest of 29-year-old Jonathan Rindernecht in connection with the Palisades Fire, one of the largest and most deadly fires in the city's history. The fire, which began in January, resulted in the deaths of twelve people and widespread destruction of homes.

Investigators allege that Rindernecht, after working as an Uber driver, was seen acting agitated before parking near Pacific Palisades, attempting to contact a former friend, and then walking up a trail where he took videos and listened to music videos featuring fire. Environmental sensors detected the fire shortly after midnight, and Rindernecht reportedly attempted to call 911 before fleeing and later returning to observe the scene. Officials believe embers from the initial fire, fanned by high winds, led to the larger Pacific Palisades fire.

Man arrested for allegedly starting Palisades Fire in California

Well, in the last hour, authorities in Los Angeles announced an arrest in connection to those deadly Palisade fires earlier this year. Destroyed so much property, caused hell for people down in L.A. That fire was part of a series of fires that sparked in January, and it's considered one of the largest fires in L.A. history. Twelve people died, so many homes wiped out. So let's talk about the latest developments. CBS News correspondent Chanel Call. Okay, Chanel, what are you learning about what happened there and who they're fingering for this? Yeah, a lot of new information released to us today, Reid. I mean, this is one of the most catastrophic fires in American history. And today, authorities are now saying, Reid, that they've arrested the person they believe is responsible. That person now identified as 29-year-old Jonathan Rindernecht. Listen to how officials believe that fire started. After working the evening shift as an Uber driver, two of his passengers told law enforcement that he appeared agitated and angry that night. After dropping off a passenger in Pacific Palisades, Rindernecht parked his car and tried and failed to contact a former friend. He exited the car, walked up a nearby trail, took iPhone videos at a nearby hilltop, and listened to a rap song whose music video included objects being lit on fire. The defendant had listened to this song and watched its music video repeatedly in the days leading up to the Lockman fire. Twelve minutes into the new year, environmental sensing platforms indicated that a fire had started. It took the defendant several tries to contact 911 to report the fire. He fled the scene in his car, but turned around after passing fire engines driving in the opposite direction to fight the fire. While the Lockman fire burned, the defendant walked up the same trail from earlier that night to watch the fire and firefighters, using his iPhone to take short videos of the scene. Enright investigators also believe that that initial fire they were just talking about there was mostly suppressed by firefighters, but then embers continued to smolder and burn underground. Then when we saw high winds kick up, it then spread the fire causing what we now know to be the Pacific Palisades fire.

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