51�Թ�

A Norco man has been convicted of purposefully igniting the Line fire that scorched some 44,000 acres of the San Bernardino Mountains and injured six firefighters, authorities said.

A $1.2-billion, 44-mile-long conveyance system called the Inland Feeder, completed in 2009, involved boring eight miles of tunnels through the San Bernardino Mountains and another 7.9-mile tunnel under the Badlands in Riverside County.

Obernolte’s vast district — which stretches across the Mojave Desert and San Bernardino Mountains — includes most of San Bernardino County and portions of Kern and Los Angeles counties.

Researchers last year surveyed areas historically inhabited by 129 pairs of owls in the San Bernardino Mountains but found only 60 pairs — a decline of more than 50% in recent decades, according to R.J.

The 42-year-old engineer, who lives in the San Bernardino Mountains, said she believes federal workers were fired illegally and wanted to show them they have the community’s support.