National

Park Fire suspect charged with felony arson for allegedly igniting largest wildfire burning in US

Written by ABC AUDIO ALL RIGHTS RESERVED on July 30, 2024

(NEW YORK) — A California man accused of deliberately starting what has become the largest active wildfire in the country has been formally charged with felony arson, court records show.

Ronnie Dean Stout II, 42, of Chico, was arraigned Monday in connection with the Park Fire, which has quickly become one of the largest recorded wildfires in California’s history. During his first court appearance, he was charged with felony arson with an enhancement of special circumstances due to prior convictions. His arraignment has been continued until Thursday.

He will be held with no bail as he awaits trial. He has not yet entered a plea. Attorney information was not immediately available.

Stout was allegedly spotted just before 3 p.m. PT on Wednesday pushing a burning car down a gully called “Alligator Hole” in Bidwell Park, near Chico in Butte County, prosecutors said.

“The car went down an embankment approximately 60 feet and burned completely, spreading flames that caused the Park Fire,” Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said in a statement.

A man who was later identified as Stout was allegedly seen calmly leaving the area by blending in with other park visitors fleeing the rapidly evolving fire, Ramsey said.

Stout was arrested Thursday on suspicion of arson in the fire and jailed without bail.

The arson suspect has two previous “strike” felony convictions, according to the Butte County District Attorney’s office.

The “Three Strikes and You’re Out” law in California imposes a life sentence for almost any crime, no matter how minor, if the defendant had two prior convictions for crimes defined as serious or violent by the California Penal Code, according to Stanford Law School.

Stout’s prior felony convictions include lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 years of age in 2001 and robbery with great bodily injury in 2002, according to the district attorney.

He was sentenced to 20 years in state prison following his 2002 conviction, according to the district attorney.

Since igniting on Wednesday, the Park Fire had spread to more than 373,000 acres by Monday afternoon, or approximately 583 square miles, through four counties — Butte, Plumas, Shasta and Tehama, according to Cal Fire. The blaze was 12% contained as of Monday afternoon, fire officials said.

More than 110 structures have been confirmed destroyed, and at least six others damaged, according to Cal Fire. There have been no reports of deaths or people unaccounted for, officials said.

The Park Fire is the largest fire burning in California as well as the nation right now, surpassing the Durkee Fire in eastern Oregon. It is now the sixth-largest fire recorded in California history, officials said.

The rapid spread of the fire is being fueled by an abundance of vegetation and one of the hottest and driest summers on record in the area, officials said.