A Palo Alto woman charged with igniting a California wildfire that has destroyed 144 properties pleaded not guilty Friday morning, saying the fire was the product of a bizarre accident.
On Friday afternoon, Souverneva, 30, entered a plea of not guilty during an arraignment at Shasta County Superior Court.
According to Cal Fire officials, Souverneva allegedly started the Fawn Fire five miles from Shasta Lake on Sept. 22 when she was boiling bear urine to drink, Redding Record Searchlight reported.
The California Institute of Technology graduate and self-proclaimed shaman told fire crews that she had been attempting to hike to Canada when she became thirsty and found a puddle of what she believed to be bear urine. In order to drink the urine, she attempted to make a fire to boil it but found it was "too wet for the fire to start," the report stated. She continued on her hike until she saw smoke and airplanes "dropping pink stuff."
During her court appearance, an attorney stated that Souverneva may be suffering a mental health crisis or "something to do with drug abuse," the newspaper said.
She is suspected of starting other California wildfires, however, officials have not yet stated which fires those may be.
A judge increased the 30-year-old’s bail from $100,000 to $150,000 on Friday as the fire damage continues to mount.
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