Man who caused Park fire, one of the largest in California history, convicted of arson
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It was a blistering day in Butte County when a man revved his wheels in dry grass until a spark ignited, then pushed the flaming vehicle down a 60-foot hill.
Whipped by strong winds amid 100-plus degree temperatures, that spark grew into California’s fourth-largest wildfire on record, ultimately scorching some 429,000 acres and destroying 427 homes.
On Friday — two years to the day since the devastating Park fire ignited — a judge found Ronnie Stout guilty of purposefully starting the blaze. The 44-year-old Chico man faces 25 years to life and is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 9, according to the Butte County district attorney’s office.
Butte County Superior Court Judge Kristen Lucena found him guilty of felony arson with multiple enhancements, including that he caused the destruction of multiple residential structures and is a “three-strike” offender. Stout had waived his right to a jury trial, opting instead to let Lucena decide his fate.
A wildfire burning northeast of Chico has swelled to more than 164,000 acres, sending thousands of residents fleeing in the night.
In 2001, he was convicted of molesting a Butte County child under 14 and served a year in jail. The following year, he was convicted of robbery and causing great bodily injury in Kern County and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Then, while on parole for the 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 ruled, he started the largest wildfire caused by arson in California history.
Stout started the day back in Upper Bidwell Park by drunkenly harassing bathers at the Bear Hole swimming area, prosecutors said. Witnesses testified in court that they then saw him recklessly driving his 2007 Toyota Yaris down the dirt and gravel near Upper Park Road toward Chico.
As he approached the Alligator Hole swimming area, his vehicle slid off the road and became stuck on a mound of dirt 60 feet above a gully near Big Chico Creek, witnesses said. He attempted to free the car by alternating between forward and reverse, repeatedly revving his engine as his tires spun in the surrounding grass and brush.
The decision comes after the jury deadlocked, leaving unresolved questions about who is responsible for the fire that killed 12 people and caused billions of dollars in losses.
It was a red flag day with triple-digit temperatures and a strong, dry wind blowing from the south. Vegetation was parched by multiple sweltering days.
From a wildfire perspective, it was the perfect storm.
Heat from the vehicle caused the dry brush to ignite under the car, 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 the flaming car and push it over the dirt mound, where it rolled down the embankment and ignited the dry vegetation at the bottom. The woman told the judge she then saw Stout blend into the crowd of people rushing to evacuate from the Alligator Hole swimming area.
The Park fire has burned more than 400,000 acres in two weeks. Photos from space show a region destroyed and a landscape blackened.
She snapped photos of him fleeing the scene and posted them on social media. Multiple other witnesses who were in the area that day saw the photos, recognized Stout and contacted CalFire.
Around three hours later, Palade testified that he contacted Stout by phone. He appeared free of remorse, repeatedly asking, “What did I do wrong, bro?” Palade said.
He was arrested the following day at his mother’s home in Chico and has been in custody ever since.
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