KTLA

Bikini-clad woman ‘covered in scratches and soot’ charged with arson in Lake Tahoe-area fire: Sheriff’s Office

The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office released this photo of a firefighter putting out hot spots on a suspected arson fire near South Lake Tahoe.

As California grapples with multiple devastating wildfires, officials in El Dorado County have arrested and charged a woman for allegedly igniting a blaze near South Lake Tahoe.

The woman, Viola Liu, was found at the scene of the wildland fire on Aug. 11 wearing a bikini and “covered in scratches and soot,” the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.


Liu, 43, of Fremont, later admitted to starting the fire in the area of the Aspen Creek Tract near Echo Summit, which was corroborated by other evidence in the investigation, sheriff’s officials said.

Liu was charged with arson, as well as possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and resisting and obstructing a peace officer, according to the El Dorado County district attorney’s office.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.