Two sleeping passengers escaped after flames spread at a truck stop near U.S. Highway 395.
HESPERIA, CA — An Oregon woman was arrested after deputies said she set fire to a vehicle with two sleeping people inside early June 16 at a Hesperia truck stop during a trip from San Diego to Las Vegas.
Nicole Najlis, 30, was booked on suspicion of attempted murder and arson after San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies responded to the Pilot Travel Center at Joshua Street and U.S. Highway 395. The case drew attention because the fire began while two people were asleep in the vehicle and because the flames spread at a busy travel stop near fuel pumps and the building entrance. Deputies said the people inside woke up and got out after the fire started.
Deputies from the Hesperia station were called at about 12:37 a.m. after reports of a vehicle fire at the truck stop. When they arrived, two vehicles were fully engulfed in flames, according to the sheriff’s department. Photos from the scene showed a burned vehicle near the front of the Pilot Travel Center, facing the entrance and sitting a short distance from the pump area. Witnesses and bystanders pointed deputies toward Najlis after the fire. The owner of one of the burned vehicles told deputies the fire followed a dispute among friends during their road trip. Sheriff’s officials said Najlis was accused of pouring fuel from a can into the trunk area and then igniting it by unknown means.
The two people sleeping inside the vehicle were described by authorities as friends traveling with Najlis. Their names were not released in the initial reports. Officials said they were awakened by the flames and escaped after the fire erupted. It was not immediately clear whether either person was injured, and authorities did not release a damage estimate for the vehicles. The exact source of ignition also remained unknown. The sheriff’s department said the case was being handled as an arson and attempted murder investigation because people were inside the vehicle when it was set on fire. Deputy Van Brimmer of the Hesperia station was listed as the investigator.
The fire happened at a major desert travel stop used by drivers heading through the High Desert and toward Interstate 15 routes between Southern California and Las Vegas. Joshua Street and U.S. Highway 395 sit in a busy stretch of Hesperia with gas pumps, truck parking and fast-moving traffic. The location raised the stakes for firefighters and deputies because burning vehicles near a travel center can threaten nearby drivers, customers, buildings and fuel equipment. Authorities did not say that fuel pumps caught fire. The public record released so far focused on the burned vehicles, the sleeping passengers and the dispute that deputies said came before the blaze.
Najlis was arrested at the scene and booked into the High Desert Detention Center. Jail booking on suspicion of a crime is not the same as a conviction, and formal charges are up to prosecutors. The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office would decide whether to file charges after reviewing reports from deputies and fire investigators. Investigators were expected to review witness statements, scene photographs, burn patterns, the fuel can and any surveillance video from the truck stop. Authorities also were expected to document where the two people were sleeping, how they escaped and whether the fire spread from one vehicle to another.
The account released by authorities described the incident as a trip among friends that broke apart in the middle of the night. A witness interviewed by local television said people at the truck stop heard the fire and saw flames rise near the entrance area. The witness account matched the early scene described by investigators, with bystanders helping point deputies toward the woman later arrested. Sheriff’s officials did not release a motive beyond saying there had been a dispute between Najlis and the owner of one of the vehicles. They also did not say whether alcohol, drugs or mechanical problems played any role in the fire.
The investigation remained open June 18, with Najlis in custody after her arrest and deputies seeking more information about what happened before the fire. The next major step is a charging review by prosecutors and any first court appearance listed through the San Bernardino County court system.
Author note: Last updated June 18, 2026.