A number of homes in Southern California wildfire areas have been left empty as residents have been forced to flee looming fires. Now multiple people have been arrested in emptied neighborhoods. Officials said one pair had items that would aid them in carrying out thefts — as well as, strangely, wild opossums.
Arrests were made Wednesday in areas under evacuation orders near the Line and Bridge fires.
A patrolling unit attempted to stop an off-highway vehicle on State Route 18 in Running Springs, a community under siege by the Line fire on Wednesday at 2 a.m., according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. Officials said the two men in the vehicle, Robert Jones and Jose Valdez-Roque, abandoned it shortly after and were found near Deep Creek Drive and State Route 18.
Jones and Valdez-Roque were arrested and booked at West Valley Detention Center on charges of unauthorized entry to a closed emergency area.
The communities of Running Springs, like others including Arrowbear Lake and Green Valley Lake, are under mandatory evacuation orders due to the Line fire, which started Sept. 5 in San Bernardino County. The fire has since spread to more than 36,000 acres with 18% containment.
A 34-year-old man suspected of starting the fire was arrested Tuesday night in Norco. The suspect, Justin Wayne Halstenberg, who is a FedEx contract delivery driver, is being held without bail at the West Valley Detention Center.
Another pair was arrested later that morning at North Mountain and North Euclid avenues in the community of San Antonio Heights, which is under an evacuation warning due to the Bridge fire.
Vincent Olivas, 32, and Melissa Segura, 23, were arrested on suspicion of possession of drugs, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. Officials said the pair were also found to be in possession of items to aid in theft and several wild opossums. The animals were uninjured and released back into the wild, according to KTLA.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department could not be reached to comment.
The Bridge fire broke out Sunday in the Angeles National Forest northeast of Glendora and has since burned more than 50,000 acres with 0% containment.
