Palisades Fire is a holdover fire that started as a smaller brush blaze, officials say

As federal authorities Wednesday announced the arrest of a Florida man , who allegedly ignited a smaller brush fire that eventually led to the Palisades Fire, fire experts emphasized the hidden dangers of “holdover” fires.

Investigators with the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday that a week before the Palisades Fire erupted, a smaller, 8-acre blaze burned in the same area. Although fire crews declared a knockdown of the Lachlan Fire within three hours, embers may have been smoldering underground in the root structure, federal authorities said.

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“When a fire looks like it’s out, it could be down in the roots of vegetation because it’s weakened by fire that stays in the roots,” said Char Miller, director of