`Justin Wayne Halstenberg was sentenced to 16 to life in state prison on Wednesday, Oct. 1, for setting the Line fire in Highland in September 2024 — a blaze that damaged six structures, injured six firefighters and burned 44,000 acres.
He received six years for setting a fire that was quickly extinguished by a Good Samaritan that will be served first, and another 10 years to life for setting the Line fire.
Also Tuesday, Halstenberg pleaded guilty to setting the first of three fires in Highland on Sept. 5, 2024, known as the Bacon fire. In return, prosecutors agreed not to pursue charges against Halstenberg related to fires in Chino Hills on Sept. 2, 2024, that authorities said they believe he started.
Halstenberg was not sentenced on the other counts for which he was convicted because a defendant cannot be sentenced for multiple convictions stemming from the same act, Deputy District Attorney Justin Crocker said.
Jurors had convicted Halstenberg, a Norco resident, 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.
He was originally charged with five other felony charges as well. Two of them were dismissed, and jurors didn’t agree on three other counts.
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, which started around 6 p.m. on Baseline Street.
It spread into 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.
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. Those coins, prosecutors said, were used to weigh down flammable paper that they said Halstenberg ignited and threw into brush.
During the trial at the San Bernardino Justice Center, prosecutors projected surveillance images that showed Halstenberg’s white pickup driving back and forth in Highland and presented cellphone data purporting to show his presence near the ignition points of the fire.
“The defendant was waiting, driving around, looking for the perfect place, the perfect moment and finally he caused the destruction,” Deputy District Attorney Justin Crocker told jurors during the trial. “The defendant finally got one to take off.”
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.
Halstenberg was arrested five days later, in Norco, and convicted on May 22.