Line Fire in Southern California burns 34,000 acres of land, arsonist suspected, thousands flee: “Nothing is worth it”

Thousands fled their homes as the line fire The wildfire devastated more than 13,800 acres of land and authorities arrested a man suspected of starting the massive blaze in Southern California.

Since the wildfire broke out around 6 p.m. Thursday, mandatory evacuations have been extended to several communities over the past week due to the rapid spread of the fire. The first outbreak occurred in San Bernardino County along Base Line and Aplin Street in the town of Highland.

The fire was estimated to be 34,659 acres in size and 14 percent contained as of Wednesday morning, according to Cal Fire, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. It is currently the fifth largest wildfire in California this year.

On Tuesday, Authorities announced Justin Wayne Halstenberg34, of Norco was arrested on suspicion of arson.

The Line Fire is one of three major wildfires that have raged across several counties in Southern California in recent days.

The bridge fire in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, which exploded in size this week, is currently the state’s third largest wildfire this year. The last of the three, the Airport Fire, several houses destroyed Tuesday night, when it also continued to spread. It is currently the seventh largest in 2024, according to updates from Cal Fire as of Wednesday morning.

Firefighters face a tough battle

Over the past week, firefighters’ response to the Line Fire has been complicated by challenges such as hot, dry weather combined with steep, rugged terrain and even smoke from the fire that formed clouds similar to those of thunderstorms. This storm system created by the wildfire system increased the winds that fanned the flames and caused them to spread even further.

“The Line Fire continues to spread in steep and difficult to access terrain, particularly in the Big Bear area,” Cal Fire officials said in an update shortly before 6 a.m. Wednesday. “Near-vertical slopes make laying control lines a challenge.”

Last week, the fire had already devastated 2,800 hectares of land on Saturday before destroying thousands more over the weekend and in the days that followed. More than 3,000 firefighters are battling the blaze from the air and from the ground, flying in helicopters through thick clouds of smoke as bright red, blazing flames ravage the slopes in the mountainous regions.

Some buildings were destroyed, the damage is still being assessed. Three injuries were reported, authorities said. There were no fatalities, San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus said on Wednesday.

“We’re going to do our best to keep it that way,” Dicus said. “The fire behavior on this fire — according to the briefings from our fire service partners — was one of the strangest and let’s just say it’s ‘not typical’ of fire science, that’s what’s being explained to me.”

“And we are constantly moving and flexible,” he said.

Evacuations are spreading, authorities warn: “Nothing is worth it”

On Tuesday, people in communities such as Arrowbear Lake, Forrest Falls and Running Springs were among those affected by mandatory evacuation orders that have expanded significantly over the past week.

“My advice to people who don’t want to leave is to get off the mountain,” said Cal Fire Battalion Chief Brent Pascua. “Nothing is worth it – your life, your families’ lives are not worth it.”

“It’s just wiser to leave the mountain before it becomes an order,” Pascua said, urging people to flee even if they are only under a voluntary evacuation warning and not a binding order. “It’s better to do it early.”

About 65,500 structures were still threatened as of Wednesday, according to Cal Fire.

Jennifer Riser, who lives in the evacuated community of Runnings Springs, said it was “scary” waiting to see if she would be forced to leave the community. Soon after, she was told she had to leave.

“We only packed up our cats about an hour ago and only because we were told to,” Riser said Tuesday.

Last week, just one day after the fire broke out, people were waiting for news about whether they would have to evacuate.

“We are just standing on the sidelines and just waiting,” local resident Diya Hirpara said Friday as she shopped for groceries and tried to prepare.

While firefighters initially managed to contain the fire in the San Bernardino National Forest, winds began to carry it toward homes, prompting the first mandatory evacuation orders on Saturday as the fire had expanded to more than 2,800 acres by afternoon.

Arson suspect and two suspected burglars arrested

Law enforcement officials said they began investigating Halstenberg on Sept. 6 and found evidence in his home and vehicle linking him to the wildfire. Investigators have not said how they believe he started the fire.

“Although we are still in the midst of the preliminary investigation, we believe this was intentional,” Sheriff Dicus said Wednesday.

Halstenberg worked as a third-party delivery driver for FedEx, according to San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department Detective Jacob Hernandez. Authorities have not identified a suspected motive for the suspected arson.

Dicus said two other people suspected of breaking into homes in an evacuated area were also arrested.

He issued a stern warning to those attempting to loot homes from which residents have fled and said police officers were on standby.

“We live in these communities, we were evacuated as well, and we’re going to make sure the public knows that their homes are our homes as well,” Dicus said. “And I draw a clear line when it comes to things like this. If you’re an opportunist in San Bernardino County and we catch you, you’re going to go to jail.”

Below is a list of evacuation orders. For the latest information on road closures and more, click here.

Mandatory evacuation orders

• The area east of Orchard Road to Cloverhill Drive from Highland Ave north to the foothills
• All undeveloped land east of Highway 330 to Summertrail Place and north of Highland Avenue
• Communities of Running Springs and Arrowbear Lake
• The community of Forrest Falls
• The community of Mountain Home Village
• The communities of Angelus Oaks, Seven Oaks and all campgrounds and cabins in the area
• The areas north and east of Highland Avenue and Palm Avenue
• Green Valley Lake north of Highway 18 along Green Valley Lake Road
• Big Bear from the dam east to Wildrose Lane and from the south shore south to Bluff Lake Basin

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