Chico man, 42, suspected of starting massive Park Fire that is burning out of control
A 42-year-old man is accused of starting the fast-moving Park Fire in Chico by pushing a burning car into a gully.
Ronnie Stout was arrested at 2 a.m. Thursday by Cal Fire arson and district attorney investigators in Butte County. The team surrounded his home in a mobile home park in Chico and used a loud speaker to order him outside with his hands up.
Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey, speaking at a press conference on Thursday afternoon, said the man complied and he was arrested.
Stout is being held without bail at Butte County Jail until he is arraigned on Monday afternoon, "undoubtedly on a count of arson. What that count of arson will be and what enhancements to that is yet to be determined."
"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," Ramsey said.
The fire, reported to have charred more than 125,000 acres, began near the Alligator Hole on Big Chico Creek in Upper Bidwell Park shortly before 3 p.m. on Wednesday.
The car went down an embankment about 60 feet and burned completely, spreading flames that caused the fire, Ramsey had said in a statement released by his office earlier on Thursday.
"The male was then seen calmly leaving the area by blending in with the other citizens who were in the area and fleeing the rapidly evolving fire," according to the statement.
Arriving Cal Fire arson investigators secured the scene and began to search for clues to the identity the man. They eventually identified someone and secured a warrant from a judge early on Thursday.
How did arson investigators identify a suspect in the Park Fire?
During his press conference, Ramsey explained how they identified Stout as the suspect in the arson fire.
A witness in Upper Bidwell Park near Alligator Hole saw a man, who authorities now allege was Stout, near the vehicle.
"It turned out to be his mother's vehicle. That witness saw a fire begin under the front left of Mr. Stout's vehicle and felt that Mr. Stout's activity was strange, and that he was doing nothing other than watching the fire. Then she saw him get into the vehicle, do something in the vehicle, get out of the vehicle, then push the flaming vehicle down in the embankment ..." he said. "We are here today because of that."
Ronnie Stout, Park Fire suspect, has a record
Ramsey said Stout has a prior record. He has two prior strikes. Those strikes are from 2001 in Butte County for sex crimes against a child under 14 years of age. The second one is from 2002 in Kern County for robbery with great bodily injury.
He was convicted in 2003 and was sent to state prison for 20 years, Ramsey said.
Authorities do not yet know how much of that sentence he served in prison.
Ramsey said the investigation is ongoing. Anyone who has information or was in the Alligator Hole area between the hours of noon and 3 p.m. is asked to call Cal Fire investigations at (530) 538-7888.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Chico man, 42, suspected of starting Park Fire has prior record
