Man arrested for arson – NBC Los Angeles

A man has been arrested on suspicion of starting a fire that quickly spread to the 34,000-acre Line Fire and forced multiple evacuations in San Bernardino County.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said police arrested 34-year-old Justin Wayne Halstenberg of Norco in connection with the fire. Officials accuse the man of setting the fire in the area of ​​Baseline Road and Alpin Street in Highland.

Halstenberg was arrested Tuesday and booked into the Central Detention Center. He is being held on $80,000 bail.

The fire started in the town of Highland on Thursday and has since grown to over 34,000 acres as it continues to spread through the San Bernardino National Forest. Triple-digit temperatures due to a heat wave in the Southland created difficult conditions for firefighters. Now, firefighters are concerned that winds expected Tuesday night could lower humidity and encourage the fire to spread.

Click here to view a map of severe wildfires in Southern California.

The hot weather and steep terrain in remote areas posed a challenge for the tireless working firefighters. At least three firefighters were injured in the fire.

As of Tuesday, around 2,100 emergency personnel were deployed to fight the fire, which threatened 65,000 buildings. The danger posed by the fire led to several evacuation orders and warnings:

The California National Guard has arrived in San Bernardino County to assist authorities battling the massive Line Fire. Darsha Philips reports for NBC4 News at 11 p.m. Monday, September 9, 2024.

Evacuation orders

• CA-38 and Middle Control Rd, Angelus Oaks
• Garnett Street east to 138 and Mill Creek north to the foothills
• The area from Calle Del Rio to Highway 38, including Greenspot Road North
• All undeveloped land east of Highway 330 to Summertrail Place and north of Highland Avenue
• The areas of Running Spring east of Highway 330 and south of Highway 18
• The communities of Running Springs and Arrowbear Lake
• The area east of Orchard Road to Cloverhill from Highland Avenue north to the foothills
• North of Highland Avenue and east of Palm Avenue to Highway 330
• Garnett Street east to 38 and Mill Creek north to the foothills
• Forest Falls
• Bergheim Village

Evacuation warnings

• From Calle Del Rio east to Highway 38 and from Greenspot Road north to the foothills
• From Highway 210 east into the Foothills and from Greenspot Road north into the Foothills
• The community of Green Valley Lake north of Highway 18 along Green Valley Lake Road
• The communities of Cedar Glen, Lake Arrowhead, Twin Peaks, Crestline and Valley of Enchantment
• The area from Garnet Street in the east to Bryant Street and Carter Street in the north to Mill Creek
• The Big Bear Valley area from the dam to Cactus Road
• Garnett Street east to Highway 38 and Mill Creek north to the foothills

Road closures

• Highway 18 is closed northbound (entrance) from Kuffle Canyon to Running Springs. Only southbound (exit) traffic is allowed.
• Highway 18 is closed from Running Springs to Highway 38 (Big Bear Dam).
• Highway 330 is closed from Highland Ave to Highway 18 in Running Springs.

Evacuation shelters

• San Bernardino County Fairgrounds, Building 6 – 14800 7th St., Victorville, CA 92395
• Jesse Turner Community Center – 15556 Summit Ave., Fontana, CA 92336
• Devore Animal Shelter (large and small animals) – 19777 Shelter Way, San Bernardino, CA 92407

One method that emergency services use in their operations is firefighting with fire.

“With the steep terrain up here and the vegetation and the way it burns, we put a small fire on the ground up here on our road that we try to hold and slowly burn downhill toward our main fire. We close it in a little bit and what it creates is called a black line,” said Captain John Clingingsmith Jr., Riverside County Fire PIO. “It's basically everything that's burned and slows the fire down and helps us create a containment line.”

Due to the intensity of the fire, Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency to direct state resources to firefighting efforts. On Monday, the California National Guard arrived in San Bernardino County to help evacuate the areas.