Forestville woman sets herself on fire, seriously burned

A 60-year-old Forestville woman Thursday poured gasoline on her body and lit a fire, severely burning herself before her boyfriend put out the flames with a garden hose, Sonoma County sheriff’s officials said.

The woman sustained severe burns and the fire caused about $100,000 in damage to a home on the 9300 block of Champs de Elysses, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

The woman, who wasn’t identified, was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital and then airlifted to Saint Francis Memorial Hospital’s Bothin Burn Center in San Francisco.

The woman lit herself on fire in a neighbor’s kitchen just before 11 a.m. Thursday “then ran across the street completely on fire stating she wanted to die,” Sgt. Spencer Crum said in a statement. Her boyfriend grabbed a garden hose and extinguished the flames, then called 911.

While firefighters treated the woman, they saw smoke coming from the neighbor’s house, Crum said. They put out the fire, which was mostly contained to the kitchen area, but the fire’s smoke caused significant damage throughout the home, he said.

You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 707-521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jjpressdem.