LAFD Veteran Testifies Ignored Hot Spots Sparked Palisades Fire

A Los Angeles Fire Department veteran testified in a lawsuit that he warned colleagues about smoldering hot spots at the site of a small brush fire on January 2, 2025, but his concerns were dismissed, allowing embers to reignite days later into the deadly Palisades fire that ravaged Pacific Palisades and claimed 12 lives.

Scott Pike, a 23-year LAFD member, shared his account during a January deposition as part of litigation filed by thousands of residents whose homes were destroyed or damaged in the blaze. The Palisades fire, which erupted on January 7, burned for weeks across thousands of acres, destroying more than 18,000 structures and forcing tens of thousands to evacuate. It stands as one of California's most destructive wildfires. Federal investigators have determined the initial Lachman fire, as it was later named, was intentionally set in Topanga State Park shortly after midnight on New Year's Day.

Pike described working an overtime shift that afternoon, when he was assigned to retrieve hoses from the eight-acre burn area during cleanup operations. As he moved through the site, he spotted about five patches of ground still emitting smoke and heat. "I could feel the heat...