Linn County residents arrested for impersonating firefighters at Palisades Fire

Two Linn County residents have been arrested by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department after allegedly posing as firefighters in an attempt to enter the Palisades Fire evacuation zone in

Los Angeles, the LASD announced.

Dustin Nehl, 31, and Jennifer Nehl, 44, were arrested for impersonating a firefighter and entering an evacuation zone. Dustin Nehl’s Facebook page identifies them as Scio residents.

This is the fire truck the Nehls allegedly used when they were apprehended, according to the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department.

“An LAPD patrol unit was driving through the Palisades Fire area with fire personnel and observed a fire truck that did not appear to be legitimate,” the LASD said. “They relayed the information, and Sheriff’s deputies contacted the individuals in the fire truck as they attempted to enter an evacuation zone.”

Deputies contacted the Nehls, who were both wearing turnout gear.

“The occupants claimed to be from ‘Roaring River Fire Department’ in Oregon,” The LASD said. “Upon further investigation, the deputies learned that the department name was not a legitimate agency, and the truck was purchased at an auction. The two occupants were wearing CAL-Fire T-shirts under the turnout gear, helmet and radios.”

The two admitted to being in the evacuation zone on Friday, Jan. 17, the LASD said. Deputies arrested the Nehls and the truck was impounded.

The Los Angeles Times reported that the truck, which had California license plates, had been decommissioned 30 years ago and auctioned off.

In a joint statement issued Jan. 21, Lebanon Fire Chief Joseph Rodondi and Scio Fire Chief  Kyle White said that neither of the Nehls either currently or have ever been members of their departments.

“We had one interaction with Mr. Nehl in October of 2024,” the chiefs said in a statement. “He arrived at the scene of a structure fire that the Scio and Lebanon fire districts were actively fighting and was driving his own privately owned engine. He identified himself as a local resident and offered to donate the water he was carrying in his tank to the firefighting effort.

“He dumped his water, shot some video from the street, and left. That is our only interaction to date with Dustin Nehl.”

The chiefs said that it is not unusual to see surplus fire equipment in the area.

“Farmers buy surplus fire engines to help protect their crops from fire during the harvest. At higher elevations, loggers guy fire engines for logging camp.

This is some of the turnout gear worn by the Nehls when they were apprehended, according to the LASD.
— Photos courtesy of LASD

“When fires occur, we sometimes see those private individuals offer to help, typically by donating their water. Because of this, our interaction with Mr. Nehl at the structure fire in October wasn’t unusual or noteworthy at the time. However, his narration of the video, which can be seen on his YouTube channel, seems to depict that he is part of the firefighting effort. He is not.”

The chiefs noted that they have sent equipment and personnel to aid in the firefighting effort in Los Angeles “and stand ready to send more equipment, if needed.”

“It is unfortunate that this occurred, as it takes away from the work that the firefighters are doing in support of those that lost so much.”

According to court records and news reports, Dustin Nehl was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty in 2017 to arson and other charges in response to accusations that he used incendiary devices to set a series of fires at two private residences, a golf course and a water facility in Woodburn in what the Woodburn Independent newspaper described as a “multi-year crime spree.”

The Nehls are not the first suspects arrested who were wearing fire turnout gear in the area.

Ivan Cedric Reed, 34, was arrested by the LASD on the evening of Jan. 14 while allegedly wearing a yellow firefighter jacket and having a first responders’ radio in a mandatory evacuation area in the city of Malibu, next door to Pacific Palisades. Reed allegedly told deputies he was a firefighter before he was arrested on multiple counts of receiving stolen property, impersonating a firefighter, unlawful use of a badge and unauthorized entry into a closed disaster area. Both cases are  being investigated by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The Nehls’ case was to be presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for filing consideration on Tuesday, Jan. 20, the LASD said.

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