An announcement of an arrest was expected Wednesday morning from Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli and Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell regarding the criminal investigation into the deadly Palisades Fire that tore through Pacific Palisade in January, according to a broadcast report.
Essayli, McDonnell and U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Kenny Cooper set a news conference at the Old U.S. Courthouse in Downtown Los Angeles to announce “a significant development” in the investigation.
No further details were immediately released, but according to ABC7, the were expected to announce an arrest as a result of the criminal investigation ino the fire, which broke out in the coastal Pacific Palisades section of Los Angeles, burned 23,448 acres and destroyed much of the exclusive community, killing 12 people.
The fire was one of two wind-driven blazes that started on Jan. 7. Together with the Eaton Fire in Altadena, near Pasadena, at least 30 people were killed, more than 16,000 structures were destroyed and nearly 60,000 acres were burned.