A Norco man was arrested yesterday in connection with the Line Fire, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said in a release.
The man, 34-year-old Justin Wayne Halstenberg, was arrested on suspicion of arson for allegedly starting a fire last Thursday in the area of Baseline Road and Alpin Street in the city of Highland.
According to Public Information Officer Mara Rodriguez, Halstenberg remained in custody today in lieu of $80,000 bail. However, she could not specify the cause of the fire or how Halstenberg was identified as a suspect.
“That information we have not released yet,” Rodriguez said. “That’s still part of the active investigation, and obviously the upcoming adjudication, so they are not releasing that information at this time.”
The Line Fire has burned more than 34,000 acres and is currently 14% contained. Three firefighters have been injured and more than 65,000 structures remain threatened by the fire and a damage inspection team is currently working in the area to identify any structures that might have been damaged or destroyed.
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Evacuation orders and warnings remain in place for a number of communities and road closures remain as fire crews work to control the blaze. An updated list can be found here on the Cal Fire website.
More than 3,000 personnel have been assigned to the fire, including members of the California National Guard. The latest Cal Fire update said that “limited resource availability continues to hamper control efforts,” with both the Bridge Fire and Airport Fire burning nearby.
A community information meeting is scheduled for this evening at 7 p.m. at the San Moritz Lodge, 24171 Lake Drive, in Crestline. Representatives from the San Bernardino National Forest, San Bernardino County Fire Protection District, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, Highland Fire Department, CAL FIRE San Bernardino/Inyo/Mono Unit and CAL FIRE Incident Management Team 3 will be on hand to provide community members with the latest information on the fire. The meeting will also be streamed live here on Facebook.
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