Overview

• The court ordered consecutive terms of six years for an earlier fire extinguished by a passerby followed by 10 years to life for the Line Fire.
• Jurors convicted Halstenberg on seven counts tied to the Line Fire and two counts from a subsequent blaze, including aggravated arson of forest land and possession of flammable materials.
• Prosecutors presented DNA on coins used to weigh down burning paper, surveillance of a white pickup, and cellphone location data near ignition points to link him to the fires.
• The Line Fire ignited on Sept. 5, 2024, on Baseline Street, spread into the San Bernardino National Forest, burned about 44,000 acres, destroyed one home and damaged five others, and injured six firefighters as thousands evacuated.
• Two felony counts were dismissed and jurors deadlocked on three others, and Halstenberg was arrested in Norco five days after the fires before being convicted on May 22.