SF News Fawn Fire Arson Suspect Deemed Mentally Unfit to Stand Trial Well that was quick! 30-year-old bioengineer-turned-yoga instructor Alexandra Souverneva, the sole suspect in September's Fawn Fire, has been deemed mentally incompetent to face trial by a judge in Shasta County.
SF News Is the Pandemic Making Wildfire Arson More Common? Some experts have already been saying that the COVID-19 pandemic may be causing arsons to spike, much as it has caused other types of serious crime to spike as well. And a couple of recent examples in Northern California feature suspects with tenuous mental health.
SF News Fire Updates: Fawn Fire 90% Contained, KNP Complex Near Sequoias at 20%, Dixie Fire Will Burn Another Month The Fawn Fire, which was believed to be started by an arsonist last week in Shasta County, has reached 90% containment and evacuation orders in the area have been lifted. Meanwhile the massive Dixie Fire, already burning for two and a half months, stands at 94% containment.
SF News Fawn Fire Arsonist Set to Be Charged In Separate Fire From Previous Night; Claims She Was Stoned, Trying to Boil Water Shasta County officials say they have reason to believe that another small vegetation fire set the night before the Fawn Fire was also the work of Souverneva.
SF News Palo Alto Scientist Arrested In Fawn Fire May Be Serial Arsonist The circumstances around last week's arrest of a 30-year-old Palo Alto woman who was in the immediate area of the Fawn Fire as it began in Shasta County remain a bit mysterious, and there is likely more to the story that investigators haven't made public.
SF News Possibly Mentally Disturbed Bay Area Woman Arrested For Setting Fawn Fire In Shasta County; Fire Grows to 1,200 Acres A woman seen in the area of the explosive Fawn Fire in Shasta County on Wednesday who later sought help from firefighters has now been arrested on suspicion of being the arsonist behind it.
