PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — Victims of January’s deadly Palisades Fire in California spoke out at a special hearing led by Florida U.S. Sen. Rick Scott. It was a platform for survivors to share their stories.
Thursday‘s hearing was part of a congressional investigation into what went wrong - from the community’s perspective - in terms of preparedness and response.
One of the survivors who spoke Thursday was reality star Spencer Pratt, who lost his home in the fire.
“By the grace of God, my family survived,” he said.
The suspect, Jonathan Rinderknecht, was arrested in Melbourne last month. He’s charged with starting the fire that burned more than 20,000 acres of the Pacific Palisades. Twelve people died in that fire.
At the time of the fire, Rinderknecht was living in California but later moved back to Central Florida.
Rinderknecht will be back in court next week for a hearing. His trial is scheduled for next April.
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