OROVILLE, Calif. (CN) — Northern California authorities have arrested a man suspected of starting what has become the largest California wildfire so far this year.
Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said in a press release Thursday that Cal Fire arson investigators arrested 42-year-old Ronnie Dean Stout II, who they say was seen pushing a burning car into a gully in Chico’s Bidwell Park on Wednesday afternoon. The vehicle exploded and was entirely engulfed in flames which spread into what has become the Park Fire, which has scorched more than 70 square miles near Chico.
Police booked Stout into the Butte County Jail where he is being held without bail until his arraignment set for Monday, Ramsey said.
Stout has two previous “strike” felony convictions. In 2001, he was convicted of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 in Butte County. In 2002, he was convicted of robbery with great bodily injury in Kern County, for which he was sentenced to 20 years in state prison.
Onlookers saw Stout leaving the area Wednesday among people fleeing the rapidly spreading flames in Bidwell Park, Ramsey said. But once Cal Fire arson investigators responded and secured the scene, authorities identified the man and issued a warrant for his arrest.
The Park Fire is among several wildfires that spurred evacuation orders across California and Oregon this week. It quickly spread to more than 125,000 acres as of Thursday evening and is only 3% contained, according to Cal Fire. Fire personnel continue to defend structures and use bulldozers to build containment lines, including near Chico Municipal Airport.
Cal Fire said that no deaths or damage to structures have been reported, although more than 700 structures are within the evacuation zone.
