Palisades Fire Latest: Containment Grows, Man Pleads Not Guilty

PACIFIC PALISADES, CA — Firefighters continue to make progress on the Palisades Fire, which grew to 57% containment as of Wednesday morning. All evacuation warnings were lifted at 1 p.m. Tuesday, and Topanga Canyon Boulevard was reopened to the public.

The official size of the fire is 1,158 acres as of 9:40 a.m. Wednesday.

"Firefighters made significant overnight progress on this fire," Los Angeles County Fire Department said in a statement Tuesday. "Containment lines were improved and firefighters were able to make access to remote areas of the fire to mop up."

Police arrested a homeless man accused of setting the fires Sunday afternoon. The man, identified as 48-year old Ramon Santo Rodriguez, was taken to the hospital with minor injuries related to smoke inhalation and is now being held on $350,000 bail, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said.

Rodriguez was charged Tuesday with one felony count each of arson of a structure or forest and arson during a state of emergency, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said.

Rodriguez pleaded not guilty to the charges. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 1.

"Regarding the cause, it is labeled suspicious," Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Ralph Terrazas said Monday. "The LAFD Arson Counterterrorism Section, along with LAPD, have aggressively pursued all tips and all leads. I want to have a special thank you to the community that provided us those tips and leads. We have to work together as a community. This problem is so significant in terms of major brush fires."

Police initially suspected arson after multiple "hot spots" broke out in a similar location LAFD said their helicopter pilots saw a man moving in the brush along a steep hillside near the fires on Saturday, and dispatched an LAPD helicopter to monitor.

"During an aerial observation, the Tactical Flight Officer witnessed the individual ignite multiple additional fires," the LAFD said. "Deputies were lowered into the brush to begin their search. Because the fires were growing rapidly, deputies were forced to retreat."

Around 11 a.m. Sunday, however, the man emerged from the brush in the 1200 block of Palisades Drive, and a private security officer notified LAPD and LAFD. Soon after, police arrived and arrested the man.

City Councilman Joe Buscaino, who is running for mayor in 2022, said the arrest shows the danger of the city's ongoing homelessness crisis.

"Our homelessness crisis is destroying neighborhoods and endangering the lives of the housed and unhoused," Buscaino said. "Over sixty percent of the fires that the LAFD has responded to this year have been related to homelessness. Allowing unregulated sprawling encampments is not compassionate, it's reckless. That's why we must act now on passing regulations that will return the rights of every Angeleno to enjoy our public spaces, and prohibit encampments whenever people are offered shelter. We must support safe and clean sidewalks, parks, and beaches. We must support a livable city where we can raise our children without being subjected rampant crime on our streets."

The fire began about 10 p.m. Friday in a hard-to-access canyon area in a remote area off Michael Lane and Palisades Court, the LAFD reported.

"By 6:30 a.m. on Saturday, fire was estimated at 15 acres," Terrazas said. "Unfortunately, by 4:30 p.m., an additional burn area emerged north of the original fire. Within about one hour, the fire grew to 750 acres. By 1 p.m. [Sunday],the fire was estimated at 1,325 acres with zero percent containment. We do anticipate being on scene for the next several days until we achieve 100 percent containment."

Terrazas said a fire this large sparking so early in the year amid relatively favorable conditions is an ominous sign for the 2021 fire season.

"[Sunday] when I woke up, it was raining out here," Terrazas said. "And the fire is still burning. That's unusual fire behavior. Our relative humidity was 60%, our wind speed was under 10 mph, but we still had an active fire. That tells you that the drought, the years that have gone by since the last fire, have changed the equation. We have to all work together."

Topanga Elementary Charter School, at 22075 Topanga School Road, reopened Wednesday after closing due to air quality and safety concerns caused by the Palisades fire, the Los Angeles Unified School District reported.

Councilmember Mike Bonin thanked the firefighters for their work against the fire during a Monday morning press conference with LAFD, although his words were hard to hear over boos and chants of "Recall Bonin" from people unhappy with his plan to turn part of Will Rogers State Beach parking lot into a secure campsite for homeless residents.

"We have had over the past several years a number of major fires here in the Santa Monica Canyons, in the hillsides of this district," Bonin said. "Each fire has been different, each fire has presented unique circumstances, and each time we have seen the men and women of LAFD and sister agencies take to the task with bravery, and steely determination."

Although weather has been cool and damp, Margaret Stewart of LAFD said the blaze was located in "difficult terrain" in three hot spots, including a main fire, the original fire, and a small spot fire. Los Angeles County fire officials reported that after the marine layer blew in, the visibility became too poor for fixed-wing aircraft, which had been productive. The planes once again took to the air Monday afternoon as visibility improved.

Operations Chief Albert Ward said Sunday helicopters were able to keep the fire from crossing into Topanga Oaks, thanks to roads on the western side of the blaze that gave firefighters a strong point of attack.

"We were able to hold that road system and keep that fire from crossing Topanga Motorway," Operations Chief Albert Ward said. "The eastern side of the fire is a little more rugged, not as many road systems or opportunities to hold the fire. We're creating those features, and trying to hold the fire. A lot of the smoke you're seeing currently is from this side."

READ MORE: 'Homelessness Is Endangering Lives': Councilman On Palisades Fire

City News Service contributed to this report.