Justin Wayne Halstenberg: Line Fire Charges, Trial, and Sentence

Justin Wayne Halstenberg is a Norco, California man convicted of setting the 2024 Line Fire, a wildfire that burned nearly 44,000 acres in the San Bernardino Mountains. A jury found him guilty of nine felony arson counts on May 22, 2025, and Judge Cheryl C. Kersey sentenced him on October 1, 2025 to 16 years to life in state prison.¹

What the Line Fire Destroyed

The Line Fire ignited around 6 p.m. on September 5, 2024, near the intersection of Base Line and Aplin streets in Highland, in San Bernardino County.² It grew into one of California’s largest wildfires that year, burning 43,978 acres before reaching full containment on October 25, 2024.³

Two structures were destroyed and five more damaged. Six firefighters were injured.³ At its peak the fire threatened more than 36,000 structures and forced evacuations in mountain communities including Running Springs.⁴ Cal Fire administrators later testified that aircraft and manpower costs reached $82 million just 18 days in, and prosecutors put property damages at more than $7 million.¹ Cal Fire officially listed the cause as arson.

Three Fires in About an Hour

Prosecutors said Halstenberg tried three times to start a fire on September 5, 2024, within roughly an hour of each other.⁵ The first, at the corner of Bacon and Lytle lanes in Highland, was extinguished by local firefighters. The second, set east of Bacon Lane along Baseline, was stomped out by a passerby before it could spread. The third ignition, near the same location, was not caught in time and became the Line Fire.⁶

How Investigators Identified Him

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and Cal Fire used traffic cameras and automatic license plate readers to track a white pickup truck seen near the fire’s origin. A search warrant took investigators to Halstenberg’s home on the 1000 block of Detroit Street in Norco, where they said they found evidence linking him to the fire. He was arrested there on September 10, 2024.⁷

Halstenberg was 34 at the time. He had worked as a FedEx contract delivery driver, though FedEx said he was no longer providing service on its behalf when the fire broke out. His prior record consisted mostly of traffic violations, along with a 2024 drug possession charge. He had no prior arson convictions.²

The Charges

On September 12, 2024, the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office filed nine felony charges: aggravated arson, arson causing great bodily injury based on the firefighter injuries, arson of a residence, three counts of arson of forest land, and three counts of possession or use of an incendiary device.⁵ Halstenberg appeared by video from jail on September 17, 2024, pleaded not guilty, and was held without bail.⁸ The count grew to 14 felonies by the time the case reached trial.⁹

The Trial

The case went to trial before Judge Cheryl C. Kersey at the San Bernardino Justice Center. Deputy District Attorneys Justin Crocker and Andrew Peppler prosecuted. Deputy Public Defenders Luke Byward and Justin Ewaniszyk represented Halstenberg.¹⁰¹¹

What the Prosecution Presented

The case was largely circumstantial. Surveillance footage from a nearby fire station, from local residents, and from a passing Tesla captured a white pickup truck parked along Baseline Street. In the Tesla clip, the truck was on the road; minutes later when the Tesla circled back, the truck was gone and the hillside was burning.¹²

Investigators recovered what they described as improvised incendiary devices at the ignition points: cigarette boxes, wadded yellow legal paper, and coins. Cal Fire Captain Bennet Milloy testified the materials were consistent with tools used by arsonists.¹³ DNA analysis on coins found at the scene, three nickels, a dime, and a penny, was reported to match Halstenberg.¹

Prosecutors also introduced digital evidence. They said Halstenberg subscribed to a YouTube channel with roughly 90 videos of burning buildings and visited about 20 news and Cal Fire websites while the fire was burning. His phone was off during the hours the fires were set, and prosecutors argued he had spent more than nine hours driving around Highland that day. Deputy DA Crocker told jurors Halstenberg had used similar devices during fires in Jurupa Valley in 2023.¹²

What the Defense Argued

Byward argued investigators never placed Halstenberg at any specific ignition point and that the case rested entirely on circumstantial evidence.¹² He challenged the DNA evidence, saying the coins were found in the street rather than at the precise origin and contained DNA from multiple contributors. He told jurors the reported match was only 30 centimorgans, below the 100-centimorgan threshold the county typically treats as a strong connection.¹⁴

The defense also pointed to physical inconsistencies: pieces of yellow paper recovered from different fire sites were “dissimilar” from one another, and a construction staple found at the Line Fire scene did not match staples from Halstenberg’s home. Byward said there was no proof Halstenberg had actually watched the YouTube fire videos, and he faulted investigators for never testing his high-mileage pickup truck for mechanical malfunctions that could have caused the fires.¹²

Verdict and Sentence

On May 22, 2025, the jury convicted Halstenberg on nine felony counts: seven tied to the Line Fire and two to the Bacon Fire.¹

Judge Kersey imposed sentence on October 1, 2025: 16 years to life in state prison. That breaks down as six years for the fire extinguished by the good Samaritan, to be served first, followed by 10 years to life for the Line Fire.¹⁵

Two victims spoke at sentencing. Lori Bartosh, whose home was damaged, said the fire brought back memories of a 2007 blaze that had destroyed a previous home and told the court its impact was “much more than damage to my home.” Brooke Palenchar, who lost her home, called it a “devastating loss” and told Halstenberg the “pain and suffering are all related to the poor choices you made,” adding that she had “found it in my heart to forgive” him. Judge Kersey ordered Halstenberg to pay Bartosh more than $11,000 in restitution, with the amount owed to Palenchar to be determined later.¹⁵

District Attorney Jason Anderson said after sentencing that “Halstenberg’s intent was sheer destruction and devastation” and called the sentence an assurance that “a serial arsonist will no longer torment our County.”¹⁰

1
KTLA. Arsonist Sentenced to 16 Years to Life for Starting Destructive Line Fire
2
Los Angeles Times. He Is Accused of Igniting a Fire That Scorched Nearly 40,000 Acres
3
Cal Fire. Line Fire
4
ABC News. Line Fire Updates
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San Bernardino County District Attorney. San Bernardino County District Attorney Announces Multiple Charges Against Line Fire Arsonist
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Los Angeles Times. Serial Arsonist Line Fire Conviction
7
NBC Los Angeles. Line Fire Arson Suspect Held Without Bail
8
The Guardian. California Line Fire Arson Suspect Pleads Not Guilty
9
San Bernardino County Sentinel. Halstenberg Prosecution Strategy Emerges
10
Victor Valley News Group. Norco Man Sentenced to 16 Years to Life for Setting Line Fire
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KVCR News. Norco Man Found Guilty of Starting Line Fire
12
San Bernardino Sun. Line Fire Defendant Finally Achieved Goal of Destruction
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KVCR News. Trial Begins for Man Accused of Starting Line Fire
14
Big Bear Grizzly. Halstenberg Wrong Spot at the Wrong Time
15
San Bernardino Sun. Man Who Set Destructive Line Fire in Highland Gets 16 Years to Life