(KTXL) – A man accused of starting the Park Fire in California — which had grown to over 164,000 acres as of Friday — was arrested Thursday morning at his home, according to the Butte County District Attorney's Office.
Ronnie Stout, 42, of Chico, California, was arrested on one count of arson, though enhancements (i.e., additional allegations that could lead to a more severe sentence) have yet to be determined, District Attorney Mike Ramsay said at a news conference Thursday afternoon.
"We hope it will not be an enhancement of great bodily injury or death, but it is still early in this fire to make that determination," Ramsay said.
The suspect is accused of starting the blaze on Wednesday after pushing a burning car into a gully at Bidwell Park in Northern California's Butte County just before 3 p.m. on Wednesday, officials said. The vehicle went down an embankment about 60 feet and burned completely, with the flames spreading to the surrounding vegetation.
The suspect then calmly left the area, in one of the nation's largest urban parks, by blending in with other people and fleeing the “rapidly evolving fire,” officials said.
The vehicle allegedly belonged to the mother of the suspect, Ramsay said. The suspect also has two prior felony convictions — one for "lewd lascivious acts" with a child under 14, and another for robbery with great bodily injury — and was sentenced to state prison, but it is unclear when he was released, according to the DA.
The suspect was also arrested on a DUI charge in 2020, Ramsay said.
As a result of the Park Fire, evacuations were ordered in Butte and Tehama counties, with the blaze only 3% contained by Friday morning. About 4,000 residents in unincorporated areas of Butte County and 400 residents of Chico were ordered to evacuate, Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said at a news conference late Thursday.
An unspecified number of structures have been destroyed, and two minor injuries were reported, Butte County Fire Chief Garrett Sjolund said.
“The fire quickly began to outpace our resources because of the dry fuels, the hot weather, the low humidities and the wind,” Sjolund said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
