A jury on Thursday, May 22, convicted a Norco man of starting the Line fire in Highland that burned 44,000 acres last year and led to six firefighters being injured.
Justin Wayne Halstenberg, 35 was found guilty of seven counts related to the Line fire, and two counts related to a subsequent blaze, including aggravated arson of forest land and possession of flammable materials, according to the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office.
Halstenberg faces a potential sentence of life in prison.
He was originally charged with five other felony charges as well. Court records show two of them were dismissed on May 5.
The prosecutor accused Halstenberg of starting three fires on Sept. 5, 2024, in Highland, with the first put out quickly by firefighters and the second stomped out by a good Samaritan.
The third try became the Line fire, started around 6 p.m. on Baseline Street, officials have said. It spread into the the San Bernardino National Forest and forced thousands of mountain residents to flee. It destroyed one home in Running Springs and damaged five other structures.
Halstenberg practiced by using ignition devices consisting of a cigarette box, wadded up yellow legal paper and coins to start fires in Jurupa Valley in 2023, Deputy District Attorney Justin Crocker said during closing arguments.
The coins were to give the devices enough weight to throw. The Jurupa Valley fires were put out quickly. Halstenberg has not been charged with these fires.
A similar ignition device was discovered at the Line fire, Crocker said. Coins were found on the street at the Line fire as well.
DNA that could belong to Halstenberg was found on three nickels, a dime and a penny, according to a document filed by the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office.
Deputy Public Defender Luke Byward, Halstenberg’s lawyer, said prosecutors failed to show that Halstenberg was precisely at any of the ignition points on Sept. 5.
The first fire, on Bacon Road, was set when Halstenberg was not on that street, Byward said.
Halstenberg was linked to the Line fire through the discovery of his pickup by an automated license-plate reader, according to investigators.
He was arrested Sept. 10, 2024 in Norco.