A vehicle that was allegedly burning when it was pushed into a gully, starting the Park Fire just north of Chico. Butte County District Attorney's Office
A Chico, Calif., man was booked in connection with the Park Fire raging in Butte County.
Ronnie Dean Stout II, 42, is looking at a charge of arson of forest land, according to the Butte County Sheriff’s Office booking logs.
Stout is believed to be the person seen pushing a flaming car into a gully in upper Bidwell Park around 3 p.m. Wednesday. Witnesses said the car rolled down the embankment and set the surrounding brush on fire.
He was arrested early Thursday morning. Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said Stout has felony convictions from 2001 and 2002, including lewd acts with a child and robbery with great bodily injury, for which he received a 20-year prison sentence.
If an arson charge is filed, he will face a third strike.
The 256-square-mile acre Park fire began Wednesday just seven miles from where Paradise, Calif., was destroyed in November 2018.
A red flag warning is in effect in Northern California for gusty winds and low humidity, which is contributing to the fire’s spread.
Smoke from the fire is wafting into Nevada north of Pyramid Lake. Winds out of the south are helping to keep it from arriving in Carson Valley and are forecast to continue through the weekend.
The fire is burning 95 miles northwest of Lake Tahoe.
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