The Norco man accused of setting the 37,000-acre Line fire burning in San Bernardino County was charged with nine felonies Thursday, Sept. 12, including one count of aggravated arson that carries a sentence of a minimum of 11 years in state prison and as much as a life term.
Justin Wayne Halstenberg, 34, is scheduled to be arraigned Friday via closed-circuit television in Superior Court in Rancho Cucamonga. He is being held without bail at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.
Justin Wayne Halstenberg, 34, of Norco, was charged with nine felony arson counts on Sept. 12, 2024, related to the Line brush fire burning in the San Bernardino Mountains. (Brian Rokos, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Aggravated arson can be charged when a suspect “willfully, maliciously, deliberately, with premeditation” ignites a fire to injure someone or damage property, according to the state Penal Code.
In this case, San Bernardino County District Attorney Jason Anderson said, Halstenberg tried setting the blaze three times in a short span of time on Sept. 5 in Highland before succeeding. The first attempt came on Bacon Lane, but the Fire Department quickly extinguished the flames. The second attempt was on Base Line Road and Alpin Lane. A good Samaritan stomped out the fire, said Jacquelyn Rodriguez, a DA’s spokeswoman.
A third attempt at the same location resulted in the fire that continued to burn on Thursday.
“It shows that there was a relentless obsession with starting a fire,” Rodriguez said.
Investigators, however, have not been able to determine a motive.
They did learn what Rodriguez described as a “signature” method of igniting the fire that she declined to describe.
Such devices can vary. Raymond Lee Oyler, for instance, tried various methods to set numerous fires in the Banning area in 2006 before settling on matches wrapped around a cigarette with a rubber band to set the Esperanza fire that killed five U.S. Forest Service firefighters.
Halstenberg was also charged with three counts of arson of forest lane, three counts of possession of material or a device to set a fire, one count of arson of an inhabited structure and one count of arson causing great bodily injury, Superior Court records show.
Jail and court records do not indicate that Halsternberg has hired an attorney yet who could speak on his behalf.
The fire was reported at 5:45 p.m. on Sept. 5. Investigators used images from automated license plate readers to connect Halsternberg to the ignition.
The fire had burned 37,207 acres and was 18% contained as of Thursday morning.
“It seems like the crews up there have everything under control,” said Fabian Herrera, a spokesman for the incident command.
Crews are focusing on the Santa Ana Creek ridge southwest of Big Bear. The fight will be mostly by air.
“It’s very steep. It’s expected that the fire is going to grow. Once it reaches the top of the ridge, it is expected to plateau,” Herrera said.
The battle was buoyed Thursday by temperatures that Herrera said are 5-10 degrees lower than Wednesday. That, coupled with higher humidity, is expected to slow the spread of the fire and make the task easier for firefighters.
“They are going to be less fatigued and that is going to give them a bigger window to work efficiently,” Herrera said.
Here is what we know
• Acres burned: 37,207• Containment: 18%• Homes evacuated: 65,000 residences• Cause of fire: Arson suspected• When it started: Sept. 5
Line Fire Evacuations
There are 65,000 residences under evacuation orders or warnings from the fire that started Thursday, Sept. 5, in Highland. A warning means residents should prepare to leave.
New orders on Wednesday, Sept. 11, were for
New warnings on Wednesday w
The area north of Highland Avenue and East of Palm Avenue to Highway 330 was previously under an evacuation order, but was downgraded to a warning Wednesday afternoon.
Orders that were in place on Thursday:
• Big Bear Dam east to Wildrose Lane and the south shoreline south to Bluff Lake Basin
• Green Valley Lake north of Highway 18.
• All underdeveloped land east of Highway 330 to Summertrail Place and north of Highland Avenue
• The area of Big Bear from the dam east to Wildrose Lane, and the south shoreline south to Bluff Lake Basin
• The communities of Running Springs and Arrowbear Lake
• The area east of Orchard Road to Cloverhill from Highland Avenue north to the foothills
• Forest Falls
• Mountain Home Village
• Angelus Oaks, Seven Oaks and all campgrounds and cabins in the area
• Green Valley Lake north of Highway 18 along Green Valley Road
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