(MENAFN- Live Mint) Jonathan Rinderknecht, the 29-year-old Uber driver who has been arrested in connection with the Pacific Palisades fire which killed 12 people and destroyed 6,000 homes in Los Angeles, had asked ChatGPT to create 'dystopian' image of burning forests and crowds fleeing months before he started the blaze.

The fire, while it was put out at first, turned into a massive blaze as it was reignited by Santa Ana winds – making it one of the most destructive fires in the California history.

Bill Essayli, the US Attorney in Los Angeles, said in a press conference that Jonathan Rinderknecht was charged in a criminal complaint with maliciously setting the fire on New Year's Day.

Investigators recovered an image from Rinderknecht's digital devices that he generated on ChatGPT depicting a burning city, according to the complaint. Authorities have not disclosed a motive.

“While we cannot undo the damage and destruction that was done, we hope his arrest and the charges against him bring some measure of justice to the victims of this horrific tragedy,” Essayli said in a statement.

The Palisades fire burned more than 23,000 acres, destroyed over 6,800 structures, and left 12 people dead before it was fully contained on January 31, 2025.

The attorney journal said that Jonathan lighted a fire on New Year's Day. While it was initially extinguished by fire crews, it continued to smolder underground.

After seeing the fire trucks, Jonathan Rinderknecht fled the scene, but returned to the same trail to take a video of the fire he had ignited.“He left as soon as he saw the fire trucks were headed to the location. He turned around and went back up there.”

“And he took some video and, and watched them fight the fire,” Essayli said.

During interrogation, Jonathan Rinderknecht lied about his location, saying he was near the bottom of the hiking trail.

The complaint had said that Jonathan's efforts to call 911 and his question to ChatGPT about a cigarette lighting a fire indicated he“wanted to preserve evidence of himself trying to assist in the suppression of the fire and he wanted to create evidence regarding a more innocent explanation for the cause of the fire.”

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