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Sequoia fire suspect arraigned in California

Peri Van Brunt reacts while she is arraigned Friday in federal court in Fresno, California.

FRESNO, California (CNN) -- A Bakersfield woman arrested on suspicion of setting the 60,000-acre wildfire threatening ancient trees in Sequoia National Forest was arraigned Friday before a federal magistrate.

Peri Dare Van Brunt was led into the courthouse in handcuffs and leg irons for a brief hearing and is now in federal custody, awaiting a Wednesday detention hearing where bail may be set. She did not enter a plea.

A criminal complaint was filed in U.S. District Court charging Van Brunt with "willfully and without authority" setting fire on public land. If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment and/or a $250,000 fine.

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"It all boils down to this," said Carl Faller, chief assistant U.S. attorney in Fresno. "She started the fire in an area where a permit was required, which she did not obtain and she failed to take the steps required by law to clear the area surrounding the fire to prevent the fire from spreading to other vegetation."

Van Brunt was apprehended Wednesday. She had been at a campsite near a resort on the afternoon of July 21, when what is known as the McNalley Fire began.

In court papers, a U.S. Forest Service agent stated employees of the Roads End Resort reported that a blonde, white female with a blackened and bruised left eye ran into the resort and yelled she started a wildfire.

A few days later, the woman's estranged husband, Gary Van Brunt, told authorities the description of the person who caused the fire matched that of his wife. He said he was staying at the resort on July 21 and saw her walk from a camp site that the two of them used for years.

Van Brunt stated "that he had been at the resort in order to avoid his estranged wife, who he contended was stalking him and against whom he was seeking a restraining order."

Authorities contacted Van Brunt in Bakersfield and said she admitted that she caused the wildfire below Roads End. She fit the description of the woman seen at the camp site and did not have a campfire permit, the affidavit said.

"She also admitted to having smoked methamphetamine the night before she traveled to the resort," the affidavit said.

Meanwhile, a U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman said she was "cautiously optimistic" that firefighters have reduced the risk that the fire will damage the park's ancient trees.

Firefighters have focused their attention on protecting the 1,000-year-old sequoia trees and the town of Ponderosa, which were at the greatest risk, Exline said. Neither the trees nor nearby residential areas have been damaged so far.

"Firefighters have been working aggressively to put in fire lines, and after today, we hope to have all of that fire line completed and we can feel more comfortable about saying the threat to those giant sequoias is diminished," fire information officer Sue Exline said.

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The blaze, dubbed the McNalley fire, has burned more than 60,000 acres in six days. More than 1,550 firefighters are battling the fire, about 50 miles northeast of Bakersfield. The blaze was about 10 percent contained Friday, the Forest Service said. Exline said high humidity is helping firefighters.

"I think in the next two days ,the threat to those giant sequoias will have diminished enough that we can begin to put efforts on other areas of the fire," she said.

The most threatened group of the thousand-year-old sequoias are those within the Giant Sequoia National Monument, created approximately two years ago by President Clinton to extend protection to trees outside Sequoia National Park. Most of the trees inside the park are about 40 miles away and remain unthreatened.

About 1,000 people in southern California have been evacuated because of the fire. That figure includes 400 Boy Scouts who had to abandon their camp when the blaze broke out Sunday.