California wildfires: Man arrested on suspicion of arson as huge blaze threatens ski resort Big Bear

A man has been arrested on suspicion of deliberately starting a huge wildfire in California that has forced evacuations from a popular ski resort.

Justin Wayne Halstenberg, 34, was held on Tuesday on suspicion of arson related to the Line Fire which has ripped through some 34,000 acres of scrubland in mountainous areas of San Bernardino County.

It is closing in on the Big Bear - known for the Bear Mountain ski resort - where some residents have been ordered to evacuate.

In total some 65,600 homes and buildings were under threat today by the fire, that started on Thursday, with huge areas blanketed by thick smoke.

The acrid air prompted several districts in the area to close schools through the end of the week because of safety concerns.

Three firefighters have been injured since the blaze was reported, state fire managers said.

It is one of three wildfires burning in Southern California that authorities are struggling to contain.

California is only now heading into the teeth of the wildfire season but already has seen nearly three times as much acreage burn than during all of 2023.

A fire in the San Gabriel Mountains east of Los Angeles is threatening the town of Wrightwood and authorities implored residents to leave their belongings behind and get out of town.

Alex Luna, a 20-year-old who was one of 4,500 people ordered to evacuate, saw the sky turn from a cherry red to black in about 90 minutes as the explosive wildfire raced toward the community.

“It was very, I would say, hellish-like,” Luna said Tuesday night. “It was very just dark. Not a good place to be at that moment. ... Ash was falling from the sky like if it was snowing.”

Major fires were burning across the West, including in Idaho, Oregon and Nevada, where about 20,000 people had to flee a blaze outside Reno.

In Northern California, a fire that started Sunday burned at least 30 homes and commercial buildings and destroyed 40 to 50 vehicles in Clearlake City, 110 miles (117 kilometers) north of San Francisco.

Roughly 4,000 people were forced to evacuate.

In Orange County, firefighters used bulldozers, helicopters and planes to control a rapidly spreading blaze called the Airport Fire that started Monday and spread to about 3 square miles in only a few hours.

The blaze was ignited by a spark from heavy equipment being used by public workers, officials said.

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