ed if Sanders recalled being interviewed by fire investigator Kyle Brown and telling him that he heard fireworks that night, Sanders said no.

Haney declined to comment on Sanders' testimony.

The witness testimony was a blow to the defense, who also called two of their own expert witnesses to cast doubt on the federal investigation and testify that fireworks were the most likely cause of the fire. Prosecutors spent hours questioning their credibility on cross examination.

Haney also asked a Pacific Palisades resident who lost his family home in the fire to testify about hearing fireworks on New Years Eve. Veterinary student Ari Sallus said he was hiking up a nearby hill with his girlfriend when he saw a flash of light and heard a loud bang from behind him.

He kept hiking and reached the top of the hill minutes later. In the same direction that he heard the bang earlier, he spotted a  little orange light  that was growing steadily and called 911.

On Thursday, Haney had called to the stand a security guard for the neighborhood and another resident who lived close to the hiking trail leading up to the clearing that the government has said was the origin point of the fire. Both said they heard fireworks and saw a group of teenagers running down the trail after.

Monday's trial proceedings demonstrated the impact of some of the limits placed on the defense, who initially planned to argue that it was the fire department's fault for not putting out the Jan. 1 fire.

Haney had wanted to use depositions from a firefighter and a state park ranger that the Jan. 1 blaze was still visibly smoldering when first responders left. The firefighter alerted his supervisors of so-called hot spots in the burn area. That testimony was gathered as part of a lawsuit filed by fire victims against the city.

However, Hwang ruled that any evidence or argument of LAFD negligence in their response to the Jan. 1 fire could not be used at trial. She said it was irrelevant and could confuse the jury.

 Theoretically, they could conclude that he was not responsible for Palisades, but the problem here is that the judge has prevented the jury from hearing most of the evidence that would suggest it was the firefighters' fault,  said NBC4 legal analyst Royal Oakes.  So that's probably a long shot for him to be guilty of Lachman, but not guilty of Palisades. 

The Palisades Fire is the most destructive wildfire in City of Los Angeles history. More than 23,400 acres burned with 6,800 structures destroyed.

Twelve peopled were killed.