Would you drink water that was actually boiled down bear urine? Well, one woman attempted to try that spicy recipe but, instead, sparked a California wildfire.
ABC7 News reports Alexandra Souverneva, 30, faces felony charges for arson for starting a fire during California’s exceptional fire season — and sparked one of her own, the Fawn Fire.
The Shasta County District Attorney’s Office in California claims Souverneva sparked the fire on September 22 and the blaze consumed more than more than 8,500 acres — prompting a state of emergency declaration in Shasta County. Thousands of people were evacuated and several homes were destroyed — all because one woman wanted to boil bear urine.
Souverneva was hiking near the Mountain Gate community in Northern California, where she was told to scram by quarry employees, on September 22 and became thirsty. Reports say she came across a puddle of water that was tainted with bear urine, so she tried filtering it with a tea bag.
“She said that didn’t work so she attempted to make a fire to boil the water. She stated it was too wet for the fire to start. She said she drank the water anyway and then continued walking uphill from the creek bed,” the complaint read.
District Attorney Stephanie Bridgett said the woman now faces up to nine years in state prison.
“We are aware that there are possible additional fires here in our county that she may be linked to as well as other charges in other fires, statewide,” Bridgett said at a Friday news conference. “My office will not hesitate to prosecute (any) person who either intentionally or recklessly starts a fire.”
She is currently held on $150,000 bail and is due back in court October 5.