The 34-year-old Norco man arrested on suspicion of starting the Line Fire that swept through San Bernardino County tried several times to start a blaze before succeeding, prosecutors say.
The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office filed criminal charges Thursday against Justin Wayne Halstenberg. He faces multiple counts of arson, including using incendiary devices to start fires and arson causing great bodily injury. Prosecutors said additional charges could be filed for any structural damage or additional injuries as the fire continues.
“The devastation that has been unleashed due to the alleged actions of one man cannot be undone,” District Attorney Jason Anderson said in a statement, adding that “37,000 acres of forest lands and mountain communities may never be what they once were.”
“My hope is that with the investigative efforts of our law enforcement partners and a thorough prosecution of this case,” he said, “we can deliver some measure of justice.”
The man's mother came to her son's defense, telling The Times on Thursday that he “did not start that fire.”
A helicopter drops water on the Line Fire on Monday in Mentone, California.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
Connie Halstenberg made the comment in a response to a text message to The Times in which she said she was not speaking to the press.
But she said, “I want to say this about my baby. He did not light that fire, I repeat, he did not light that fire.”
She said there are things her son does that she does not approve of but that “he is not an arsonist.”
In filing the charges, prosecutors said Halstenberg attempted to set several fires within an hour in the town of Highland. His first alleged attempt occurred at Bacon and Lytle Lanes. That fire was reported and extinguished by local firefighters.
Justin Wayne Halstenberg, 34, is being held without bail. He is scheduled to appear in Rancho Cucamonga Superior Court on Friday.
(San Bernardino County Sheriff)
Prosecutors said he tried to do it a second time just east of Bacon Lane, near Base Line and Aplin streets. They said a good Samaritan managed to put out the fire.
“Undeterred, he set a third fire that we now know as the Line Fire,” prosecutors said in the statement.
Three firefighters were injured in the early days of the fire. At least one structure was destroyed and three others were damaged, but none of them were homes, according to San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus. He said the fire had affected about 100,000 county residents.
Matt Kirkhart, a battalion chief with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection who oversees the police investigative unit, said arson investigators responded to the fire that day to determine its origin and cause.
Flames from the Line Fire reach the treetops Tuesday in Running Springs, California.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
He said investigators immediately began reviewing video taken from traffic cameras and license plate readers in an attempt to find a lead. They were joined by detectives from the Sheriff's Department. Kirkhart said investigators at one point were able to identify a white pickup truck, which led them to the suspect.
Sheriff's Detective Jake Hernandez said Halstenberg was arrested Tuesday at his home in the 1000 block of Detroit Street in Norco, where a search was conducted.
Halstenberg, who remains jailed without bail, is scheduled to be arraigned Friday in Rancho Cucamonga Superior Court.
