In California, a 30-year-old Russian woman is accused of setting fire to a forest fire that could destroy thousands of homes. The suspect herself claims that the fire spread to the trees by accident – she boiled bear urine and does not consider herself guilty, reported Glass News.
The forest fire, which is raging in Shasta County, destroyed 41 residential buildings and 90 small buildings and now threatens another 2,340 buildings. Alexandra Suverneva, 30, has been charged with incitement and is being tested for involvement in other fires in California. On the day of the fire, the woman was on a hike and was about to reach Canada. She told the forestry staff that she was thirsty, and on the way she found a puddle of what she thought was bear urine. She decided to light a fire to boil it.
According to Alexandra, it was too wet for fire, so she drank her urine and continued her journey. At one point, Suverneva got stuck in the bushes and called the fire department to help her free herself. They searched her pockets and bag and found containers of CO2, a lighter and an object containing a green leaf substance that Alexandra, she admitted, smoked that day.
A survey of workers from a nearby career showed that the woman threw away two cans of CO2, which correspond to the one found in her belongings. The forest fire broke out on the same day. Suverneva positions herself as a shaman and claims to be a doctoral student at the College of Environmental and Forestry Sciences at SUNY University in New York. During the first court hearing, Alexandra’s lawyer said that his client had talked to law enforcement and that they believed she had a mental health crisis or “something related to drug addiction.”
It is very likely that the woman was involved in the fire. If convicted, she faces up to nine years in prison. Suverneva is also suspected of causing other fires in the state. Experts say the perpetrators often set fire to many places in a short period of time. Shasta County Sheriff Michael L. Johnson has already informed angry homeowners about the shaman’s arrest. They were forced to leave their homes and were left homeless.
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