Biden visit delayed LAPD response during Palisades Fire

LOS ANGELES — President Biden’s trip to Los Angeles stymied evacuation efforts in the burning city — because the LAPD had to deploy its entire motorcycle fleet to accompany him, an explosive new report says.

Cops on motorcycles were not available to help alleviate gridlocked traffic for residents fleeing for their lives as the raging fire engulfed the City of Angels in early January, according to the newly released 2025 “Palisades After Action Report,” penned by LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell.

The report details the department’s resource planning leading up to the fire and what happened after the blaze grew out of control.

As the fire grew and residents fled, a massive traffic jam began on a portion of Sunset Boulevard, making it “nearly impossible for first responders to reach their destinations,” the report says.

Biden had a preciously planned trip to LA on Jan. 7, and was in town as the fire quickly spread — a visit that required the use of all of the LAPD’s on-duty motorcycle officers.

“At 11:30 a.m., the LAPD IC contacted the POTUS CP to request the assistance of motorcycle officers whose ability to maneuver through heavy traffic would have helped reduce the gridlock in the Palisades,” McDonnell notes.

“Unfortunately, the POTUS CP was unable to release the motorcycle officers. However, due to a change in the President’s schedule, the POTUS CP was able to send 65 officers in patrol cars to the Palisades incident,” the report reveals.

However, as noted in the report, the patrol cars were much less efficient in navigating the heavy traffic to help ease the gridlock that trapped panicked residents.

Still, McDonnell says, the release of the additional patrol cars from the Biden team provided crucial resources to assist in the evacuation.

“The availability of these officers provided the Palisades CP with a vital injection of resources in a relatively short amount of time. Were these resources not already on standby at a nearby location, the evacuation efforts would have been greatly diminished,” he says.

First responders also had issues with communication, as the fire had knocked out radio and cellphone towers, so officers were forced to use their personal devices.

The original rescue command post — Fire Station 23 — became engulfed in flames, forcing command resources to be moved to Will Rogers Beach, creating more issues, the report says.

The Palisades Fire resulted in 12 deaths and burned more than 23,000 acres.

Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, has since been indicted on federal charges of arson affecting property used in interstate commerce, destruction of property by means of fire and one count of timber set afire.

Rinderknecht allegedly started a fire in the area — with heavy winds sparking the Palisades Fire a week later after smoldering remains from his blaze reignited.