For allegedly starting park fire with car, California man arrested

A California man was arrested early Thursday on accusations of starting the massive Park Fire that erupted a day earlier with a flaming car, fire officials said.

Ronnie Dean Stout II, 42, of Chico, is accused of pushing a flaming vehicle into a gully near the Alligator Hole in upper Bidwell Park shortly before 3 p.m. PDT on Wednesday.

The car fell some 60 feet, authorities said. The vehicle burned completely, and the fire spread.

“The male was then seen calmly leaving the area by blending in with the other citizens who were in the are and fleeing the rapidly evolving fire,” Butte County District Attorney Michael Ramsey said in a statement.

A warrant was issued for Stout’s arrest Thursday morning and he has been booked into the Butte County Jail, where is is being held without bail. He is to be arraigned Monday.

The District Attorney’s office said Stout has two previous conviction: one in 2001 for lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14, and the other the next year for robbery causing great bodily injury, for which he was sentenced to state prison for 20 years.

The Park Fire ignited at 2:52 p.m. Wednesday, according to an update from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, which is better known as Cal Fire.

Since then, it has spread into two counties, consuming nearly 125,000 acres with only 3% contained as of 6:05 p.m. Thursday.

Numerous evacuation orders have been issued, affecting thousands of residents.

The office of California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he’d secured overnight funding and resources to help fight the fire.

Park Fire is one of more than the two dozen blazing through the state this fire season.