A man has been convicted of causing the Park Fire, one of California’s largest blazes
It was a blistering day in Butte County when a man revved his tires on dry grass until a spark ignited, then pushed a burning car down a 60-foot hill.
Fanned by strong winds amid 100-plus degree temperatures, that spark grew to become California’s fourth-largest wildfire on record, eventually burning about 429,000 acres and destroying 427 homes.
On Friday – two years after the Park fire – a jury found Ronnie Stout guilty of arson. The 44-year-old Chico man faces up to 25 years to life in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 9, according to the Butte County district attorney’s office.
Butte County Superior Court Judge Kristen Lucena found him guilty of arson with multiple enhancements, including causing the destruction of multiple residential buildings and being a “three-strikes criminal.” Stout had waived his right to a trial, choosing to let Lucena decide his fate.
In 2001, he was convicted of sexually abusing a child under the age of 14 in Butte County and served a year in prison. The following year, he was convicted of robbery and aggravated assault in Kern County and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Then, while he was out on parole for a robbery sentence in 2020, he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence near Upper Bidwell Park in Chico.
And on July 24, 2024, Lucena reignited, starting the largest arson-induced wildfire in California history.
Stout started the day in Upper Bidwell Park harassing bathers at the Bear Hole drunk, prosecutors said. Witnesses testified in court that they saw him driving his 2007 Toyota Yaris recklessly on the dirt road Upper Park Road towards Chico.
As he approached the Alligator Hole swimming pool, his car skidded off the road and got stuck in a dirt mound 60 feet above the canal near Big Chico Creek, witnesses said. He tried to free the car by alternating forward and reverse, revving his engine repeatedly as his tires spun in the surrounding grass and brush.
It was a red flag day with triple digit temperatures and a strong, dry southerly wind. The vegetation dries up after several days of soaking.
From a wildfire perspective, it was a perfect storm.
The vehicle’s heat caused dry brush to catch fire under the vehicle, according to testimony from California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Battalion Chief Matt Palade.
A woman testified that she saw Stout get out of a car that was on fire and push it over a dirt mound, roll over a fence and set fire to the dry vegetation below. The woman told the judge that she then saw Stout join a crowd of people rushing to get out of the Alligator Hole swimming pool.
He took pictures of himself running away from the scene and posted them on social media. Several other witnesses who were in the area that day saw the photos, saw Stout and contacted CalFire.
Three hours later, Palade testified that he contacted Stout by phone. He seemed unrepentant, asking repeatedly, “What did I do wrong, brother?” Palade said.
He was arrested the next day at his mother’s home in Chico and has been in custody ever since.
