October 9, 2025 - Nine months after a raging inferno decimated the Los Angeles area, claiming the lives of a dozen people and burning down thousands of homes and businesses, officials have arrested a suspect in Florida on suspicion of arson.

October 2, 2025 - Justin Halstenberg of Norco was sentenced to 16 years to life in prison on Wednesday for igniting the Line fire in Highland in 2024, which led to six firefighter injuries and 44,000 acres of San Bernardino County mountains being scorched.

3 weeks ago - Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, accused of starting devastating fire that destroyed more than 6,800 structures

This is consistent with our expectations, as wildfires can · reduce landscape fuels, providing the prospective arsonists

January 27, 2025 - While "copycat arson" is a known phenomenon and experts admit arsonists may have begun smaller fires that followed the Palisades blaze and the similarly destructive Eaton Fire (now 98% contained) in Pasadena, people are probably not responsible for the initial conflagrations.

September 18, 2024 - Halstenberg’s mother, Connie Halstenberg, told the Los Angeles Times on Saturday that there were things that her son has done that she does not approve of but said that “he is not an arsonist”. Prosecutors said additional charges may be filed for any further structure damage or injuries as the fire continues. Authorities have said Halstenberg’s vehicle has been tied to areas where the fires were started on 5 September. The Line fire has threatened more than 65,000 homes and injured four firefighters. It is one of three wildfires that exploded across southern California this month following a triple-digit heatwave.

While fictional arsonists are depicted ... in rapid succession, real-life arsonists are usually unskilled offenders who use matches or other simple devices to set small fires that may escalate in frequency and severity....

1 month ago - The revelations — unveiled in a criminal complaint and attached affidavit Wednesday charging the alleged arsonist, Jonathan Rinderknecht — raise questions about what the Los Angeles Fire Department could have done to prevent the conflagration.

July 30, 2024 - A California man accused of deliberately starting what has become the largest active wildfire in the country has been formally charged with felony arson, court records show.

February 6, 2025 - But those charged were not accused of sparking the devastating wildfires.

April 25, 2025 - Joseph Kling, 19, is charged with arson in the Ocean County, N.J.​ wildfire that has scorched more than 15,000 acres.

California State Parks announced today the arrest of a suspect on a charge of felony arson related to a brush fire that ignited on Jan. 8 near Leo Carrillo State Park (SP) in Los Angeles County. The region has been under a red flag warning, with severe fire danger intensified by powerful Santa Ana winds, which have fueled multiple destructive wildfires across Southern California.

January 15, 2025 - The man was allegedly chased and apprehended by residents of Woodland Hills after they saw him setting fire to old Christmas trees and debris with what one resident described as a “flamethrower” soon after the massive wildfire began Thursday, the New York Post reported.

1 month ago - The man accused of igniting the catastrophic Pacific Palisades wildfire in Los Angeles has been hit with a federal indictment.

Bureau of Land Management law enforcement rangers recently caught an arsonist who ignited a small wildfire earlier this month.

October 10, 2024 - Donald Shawn Anderson is one of 109 people Cal Fire has arrested on suspicion of arson this year, stemming from brutal wildfires that have raged from summer into fall.

May 3, 2025 - The first suspect, 19-year-old Joseph Kling, was arrested on April 23 in connection with the Jones Road Wildfire, which ignited in Ocean Township on April 22, prosecutors said.

1 month ago - LOS ANGELES — The man arrested on suspicion of deliberately setting the blaze that would spark one of the most destructive wildfires in Los Angeles history was indicted on three arson-related charges on Wednesday, adding two felonies to the criminal case he already faced in federal court