Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, was arrested on Tuesday near his Florida home, according to authorities

A Florida man has been arrested for allegedly intentionally igniting the deadly Pacific Palisades Fire in Los Angeles which ravaged the city in January and killed several people.

Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, was arrested on Tuesday near his Florida home, according to authorities.

He is facing a federal criminal charge of destruction of property by means of fire, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California is Bill Essayli announced on Wednesday. The felony is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

According to the criminal complaint, Rinderknecht is accused of starting a fire in Pacific Palisades on New Year's Day. The fire went on to become one of the most destructive wildfires in the city's history.

Essayli said among the evidence that was collected from Rinderknecht's digital devices was an image he allegedly generated on ChatGPT a few months before the fires depicting a burning city.

"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 wrote on X.

The fire in January killed 12 people and destroyed more than 6,000 homes and buildings in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood.

The blaze tore through hillside neighborhoods, destroying mansions in the wealthy neighborhood.

Authorities allege that on the night of the fires, Rinderknecht returned to Pacific Palisades after working a shift as an Uber driver. Passengers told police he appeared “agitated and angry” that night.

After dropping off a passenger in the neighborhood, Rinderknecht parked his car, walked up a nearby trail and listened to a rap song with a music video which "included objects being lit on fire," Essayli said.

He allegedly listened to the song repeatedly in the days leading up to the fire.

Authorities said that Rinderknecht then called 911. While the fire burned, he walked up the same trail to watch the blaze and firefighters and used his phone to take videos of the scene, Essayli said.

Rinderknecht is due to make his first court appearance on Wednesday afternoon in Orlando.