The 34-year-old man accused of starting the devastating Line Fire in the mountains of San Bernardino County, which has burned for almost a month and charred nearly 44,000 acres, prompting evacuations as recently as this week, made another appearance in court Wednesday, officials announced.
Justin Wayne Halstenberg , a Norco resident, was arrested for arson just four days after the massive wildfire erupted on Sept. 5.
Investigators said they were able to use license plate readers and other means that put the 34-year-old in the vicinity of where the fire started in Highland on Sept. 5 and added that they have surveillance footage among other evidence collected during the investigation.
“We were able to look at several different videos and determine who the suspect was,” San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Lt. Kari Klaus said shortly after his arrest on Sept. 9.
The 34-year-old pleaded not guilty at a court appearance on Sept. 17.
A day and half long preliminary hearing for the alleged arsonist, which ended Oct. 2, included testimony from several Cal Fire investigators, financial analysts, a DNA expert and a SBSD deputy sheriff, the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office said in a post to X , formerly Twitter.