![[01-18-2025] Convicted Arsonist And Wife Arrested For Impersonating Firefighters In Palisades Fire Zone](https://ak1.to//9XC^C.webp)
A convicted arsonist and his wife were arrested for impersonating firefighters to gain access to the Palisades Fire evacuation zone in Los Angeles on Saturday morning, January 18, 2025.
According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, 31-year-old Dustin Nehl from Oregon and his wife, 44-year-old Jennifer Nehl, were arrested for unauthorized entry into an evacuation zone by impersonating firefighters. They admitted they had gained access the day before. Officials reportedly planned to ask the LA County district attorney’s office to charge the pair.
The driver pulled up to the Palisades Fire checkpoint, where emergency workers were sifting through the wreckage. He was reportedly wearing a yellow firefighter uniform and driving a full-size red fire engine with emergency lights, California license plates, and an American flag. He told the troops manning the perimeter that he was a volunteer firefighter.
The truck, equipped with firefighting safety gears and radios tuned to frequencies used by the departments fighting the fire, was originally from a Northern California fire department before being decommissioned 30 years ago. It was reportedly acquired at an auction.
An officer at the checkpoint noticed something off with the truck’s “Roaring River Fire Department” markings and had the man’s Oregon driver’s license verified. They discovered the man’s 2017 five-year-imprisonment for a series of arson-related crimes in Woodburn, Oregon, including fires set at a golf course, park, and water facility. The fire department in the truck’s insignia also does not exist.
Officials said Nehl pretended to be a firefighter to gain free lodging at a Holiday Inn Express. While they have not been accused of theft from unoccupied homes in the area, authorities found tools that could be used for burglary and a map of burn areas inside the fire truck.
The arrests follow a similar incident involving Ivan Cedric Reed, who was arrested on Clifftop Way in Malibu Tuesday evening. He was charged with impersonating a firefighter and receiving stolen property in the Palisades Fire zone, among other charges.
Countless firefighters from fire agencies around the world are in Los Angeles County fighting the ongoing wildfires.
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