An Uber driver charged with starting the worst wildfire in Los Angeles’s history generated an AI image of a burning city beforehand, prosecutors said.

Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, was charged on Wednesday with “maliciously” starting the Pacific Palisades fire which killed 12 people and destroyed more than 6,000 homes.

The fire consumed more than 23,000 acres of the wealthy coastal enclave, caused tens of billions of dollars in damage, and took firefighters some three weeks to contain.

Mr Rinderknecht was arrested in Florida and has been charged with destruction of property by means of fire, Bill Essayli, the acting US attorney, said on Wednesday at a press conference in Los Angeles.