A man was arrested Thursday and charged with igniting the massive Park Fire near Chico, Calif., after he allegedly pushed a flaming car into a gully.
The Park Fire had been sparked at around 3 p.m. Wednesday, about 90 miles north of Sacramento. Exploding overnight, it had grown to over 120,000 acres (more than 187 square miles) by Thursday night, was just 3% contained and was projected to grow.
More than 4,000 people were forced to evacuate in Chico and Butte County, the Butte County Sheriff’s Office told the Los Angeles Times. Gov. Gavin Newsom said he had secured federal funding to help in fighting the fire.
The 42-year-old Chico man, who KCRA identified as Ronnie Dean Stout II, “was seen pushing a car that was on fire into a gully near the Alligator Hole in upper Bidwell Park,” Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said in a statement Thursday afternoon.
“The car went down an embankment approximately 60 feet and burned completely, spreading flames that caused the Park Fire,” his office said. “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.”
The DA’s office did not immediately identify Stout, saying its official confirmation would come later Thursday afternoon.
The suspect had previously been convicted of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 in 2001 in Butte County, and for robbery with great bodily injury in 2002 in Kern County, KCRA reported. He was sentenced to 20 years in state prison for the second offense, the station said.
Stout was being held without bail pending a Monday arraignment, Ramsey’s office said.
No one had been injured and no structures had been damaged by Thursday afternoon, though predictions were for weather conditions that could exacerbate the flames.
With News Wire Services
