Bay Area woman held to answer to Fawn Fire charges; arraignment is Feb. 14
Fawn Fire suspect Alexandra Andreevna Souverneva was ordered to answer on charges filed against her in connection to the wildfire after a preliminary court hearing Thursday.
The Shasta County District Attorney’s office made the announcement in a news release posted on its Facebook page.
Souverneva is charged with setting the 8,578-acre Fawn Fire north of Redding in Sept. 22, 2021.
Due to the extremely dry conditions when the blaze broke out, the "extreme fire behavior" and its threat to the community and the thousands of homes in the Redding area, the Fawn Fire at the time received the highest firefighting priority in the nation by the National Interagency Fire Center.
The blaze destroyed 185 buildings and injured three firefighters before it was contained.
Souverneva’s next scheduled court appearance is 8:30 a.m. on Feb. 14 for an arraignment.
Months after her arrest, Souverneva was ordered to be locked up in a state hospital rather than face a criminal trial.
Based on psychological reports, Superior Court Judge Barbara Zuniga ordered in December 2021 Souverneva to be placed in the custody of the California Department of State Hospitals, according to the Shasta County District Attorney's Office.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Bay Area woman held to answer to Fawn Fire charges; Feb. 14 arraignment
