LOS ANGELES —Jurors have deadlocked in the trial for a troubled Uber driver accused of lighting a blaze in the Santa Monica Mountains that investigators say led to one of the most destructive fires in U.S. history.

Jurors told U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang on Thursday they were unable to come to a unanimous verdict. They’re expected to return the following day.

Jonathan Rinderknecht, 30, is accused of starting a fire on Jan. 1, 2025, which prosecutors say later grew to become the deadly Palisades Fire. He is facing three counts of arson related to the destruction of federal property.

“We have people on both sides who are dead set, unwavering and unwilling to change their opinion. We are at a standstill. We are unsure how to proceed,” the jury wrote in a note to the judge, which was read aloud in court.

Hwang sent a note to the jury asking if there was anything the court could do to assist its deliberations, a step below an “Allen charge” or “dynamite charge,” which involves further instruction from a judge urging the jury to come to a unanimous decision and is considered a final, high-pressure effort to force an agreement.

Shortly thereafter, the jury responded with a note reading, “There is nothing the court can do to assist the jury in deliberations. Additional instruction or a rereading of the testimony would not help in deliberations. Unfortunately we cannot reach a unanimous verdict.”

A subsequent note clarified jurors could not reach a unanimous verdict on any of the three arson charges.

U.S. Attorney Mark Williams and defense counsel Steve Haney both told the judge they needed more time to research their responses before Hwang asked for an Allen charge.

The judge dismissed the jury for the day, ordering them to reconvene Friday morning at 9 a.m PST.

Jurors began deliberating Tuesday after reviewing two weeks of presented evidence and dozens of witnesses.

Prosecutors say Rinderknech on Jan. 1, 2025 ignited a brush fire, dubbed the Lachman Fire, which smoldered underground for a week until reemerging to the surface through a single shrub.

On Jan. 7, investigators say hurricane-force winds picked up the flame and propelled it through the surrounding canyons, killing 12 and razing more than 6,000 homes in the wealthy coastal enclave of Pacific Palisades.

Rinderknecht’s attorneys say prosecutors have not proven he started the Lachman Fire—let alone is responsible for the Palisades Fire that followed it six days later.

If convicted, Rinderknecht faces up to 45 years in prison.

If jurors cannot reach a verdict, Hwang will likely declare a mistrial, and the federal government will decide whether or not to retry the case.