Overview

• Rinderknecht, 29, was arrested near his home in Melbourne, Florida, and made an initial federal court appearance in Orlando; he remains in custody pending an Oct. 17 detention hearing.
• He faces a federal count of destruction of property by means of fire, a felony carrying a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 20 years in prison, and prosecutors say additional charges are possible.
• Authorities say cellphone geolocation from his 911 call placed him about 30 feet from the initial blaze, and cite iPhone videos, passenger statements, and AI images and queries from ChatGPT as supporting evidence.
• Investigators allege he set a small fire just after midnight on Jan. 1 along the Temescal Ridge Trail that smoldered underground and was blown back to life on Jan. 7, fueling a 23,000-acre catastrophe that killed 12 and destroyed or damaged more than 6,800 structures.
• The ATF-led probe gathered more than 13,000 evidence items, conducted hundreds of interviews, ran controlled scene tests, and ruled out fireworks, lightning, and power lines, concluding the origin involved an open flame.