Arson charges have been filed in connection with one of the state’s largest wildfires.
Ronnie Dean Stout II, the Northern California man charged Monday, has denied all allegations that he pushed a burning car down an embankment.
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As of Tuesday, the fire has burned more than 380,000 acres, destroyed 111 homes and prompted the evacuation of more than 25,000 people in four California counties, according to Cal Fire.
Stout II was charged Monday with reckless arson and other related crimes.
He remains in custody pending his arraignment scheduled for Thursday.
The Park Fire, which began last Wednesday, has already burned 600 square miles in Tehama and Butte counties, more than three times the area of Lake Tahoe.
This makes the Park Fire the fifth largest fire in California history.
As of midday Tuesday, the fire was only 14% contained, according to Cal Fire.
The fire started in Upper Bidwell Park, a 3,600-acre city park in Chico, Butte County.
The fire then spread and reached Tehama County.
“This didn’t need to happen,” Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said during a news conference this week.
Ramsey said evidence suggests the fire started when Stout II stopped his car on the shoulder of the road, but ended up going over a shoulder and hitting a patch of dry grass.
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Witnesses reported seeing Stout II revving the car’s engine in an attempt to get out of the patch of grass, which caused the tires to smoke and the car to catch fire along with the grass underneath.
Ramsey explained that the fire spread when Stout II allegedly pushed the burning vehicle down an embankment.
Stout, however, claims he did not push the car, but panicked and left the scene.
According to witnesses, Stout was seen calmly mingling with other people fleeing the rapidly spreading fire.
“The car fell into an approximately 60-foot embankment and burned completely, spreading flames that caused the park to catch fire,” Ramsey said.
Examination of the vehicle by the California Highway Patrol revealed that it was in neutral at the time.
Witnesses also reported seeing Stout drinking nearby and speeding on a gravel road shortly before the fire started.
After the fire broke out, Stout allegedly returned home and was arrested the next day with alcohol in his system.
Stout was charged with “intentional and malicious arson,” a charge that could result in his third strike under California’s three-strikes law due to his prior criminal history — meaning he could face life in prison without the possibility of parole .
The indictment also includes a special allegation that he caused several structures to burn.
Stout’s criminal history includes convictions for lewd acts with a child under 14 in 2001 and robbery with serious bodily injury in 2002.
He was sentenced to 20 years in state prison for his second attack.
In 2020, Stout was arrested for drunk driving in Bidwell Park, the same area where the park fire originated.
If convicted of the current charges, Stout could be sentenced to a potential sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
Efforts to contain the fire are ongoing, with thousands of firefighters and first responders working to prevent further devastation.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
