BUTTE COUNTY, Calif. — A Chico man is in custody after he allegedly pushed a burning car down a gully causing the Park Fire in Butte County.
According to the Butte County District Attorney’s Office, 42-year-old Ronnie Dean Stout II was arrested Thursday morning.
District Attorney Mike Ramsey says Stout was seen pushing a car on fire into a gully near the Alligator Hole in upper Bidwell Park around 3 p.m. Wednesday. The car went down an embankment and burned completely, spreading flames and leading to the Park Fire.
Ramsey says Stout then calmly left the scene and blended in with other people nearby who were trying to escape the blaze.
Cal Fire arson investigators responded and he was identified. A warrant was issued for his arrest Thursday morning.
Anyone who was around Alligator Hole between 12-3 p.m. Wednesday is asked to call investigators at 530-538-7888.
According to the Butte County District Attorney’s Office, Stout has two previous felony convictions. The first is from 2001 and was for lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14. The second is from 2022 and it was for robbery with great bodily injury in Kern County.
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