Man found guilty of arson in Park fire, fourth-largest wildfire in California history

Rosalio Ahumada, The Sacramento Bee on Jul 24, 2026

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OROVILLE, Calif. — Deputy District Attorney Marc Noel said in court Friday that Ronnie Stout II made a series of bad decisions, intentional acts, two years ago that ignited the state’s fourth-largest wildfire in its history, a blaze that destroyed 427 homes in Northern California.

“It left thousands homeless,” Noel told the judge. “The defendant’s actions caused the Park fire.”

On the two-year anniversary of the wildfire, which burned nearly 430,000 acres in Butte, Tehama, Plumas and Shasta counties, attorneys gave their closing arguments in Stout’s arson trial in Butte Superior Court.

Nicole Diamond, Stout’s defense attorney, argued that the prosecution presented in court a theory that relies on a witness who presented her assumptions as facts to investigators. Diamond said there’s no doubt the Park fire was a tragedy for many people, but that the prosecution did not prove her client’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

“A tragedy occurred, but a tragedy is not proof of a crime,” the defense attorney told the judge.

Diamond argued that the court’s verdict cannot rest on assumption presented as facts.

Stout opted for a court trial in which a judge weighs the evidence and testimony and decides whether the defendant is guilty. After the closing arguments ended Friday morning, Stout’s fate was up to Judge Kristen Lucena.

After taking a 15-minute break, the judge returned to her courtroom and found Stout guilty of a felony charge of arson of an inhabited structure or property. Lucena said she found the required intent in Stout’s actions to convict him of the crime.

His conviction included enhancements for arson with special circumstances and previous convictions for serious and violent felonies under California’s “Three Strikes” law.

Stout, 44, faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison. He has remained in custody at the Butte County Jail since his arrest one day after the wildfire started. The judge scheduled Stout to return to court Oct. 9 for his sentencing hearing.

Prosecutors alleged Stout lit a car on fire near popular swimming spots and pushed the burning vehicle down a 60-foot embankment in Upper Bidwell Park east of Chico, where the Park fire started July 24, 2024.

The Park fire prompted widespread evacuations as flames from the wildfire burned 429,603 acres, or 671 square miles, in Butte, Tehama, Plumas and Shasta counties. Cal Fire officials reported the wildfire destroyed 713 homes, businesses and other buildings while damaging 57 others.

Firefighters spent two months battling the blaze, California’s largest wildfire in 2024, before they were able to fully contain the Park fire.

Witnesses saw Stout drinking near a watering hole on the day the wildfire started, according to the Butte District Attorney’s Office. Another person told authorities they saw Stout driving recklessly and with speed.

Stout was arrested at a mobile home park in Chico after officials gathered evidence from witnesses, including a woman who saw him acting “strange” after his car lit on fire near Alligator Hole at Upper Bidwell Park.

The woman saw him “doing nothing other than watch the fire” before he got back into the car, then got out and pushed the car down a 60-foot gully near the swimming hole.

The suspect was seen calmly leaving the area as others there fled the rapidly evolving wildfire, according to the District Attorney’s Office. Investigators later discovered that the charred car belonged to Stout’s mother.

In 2001, Stout was found guilty of lewd and lascivious acts with a child younger than 14 years old in Butte County where he was sentenced to serve a year in jail. Stout was ordered to register as a sex offender.

The following year, Stout was convicted of committing robbery and great bodily injury in Kern County. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison after the 2002 conviction.

While on parole in 2020 from the Kern County conviction, Stout was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence near Upper Bidwell Park, District Attorney Mike Ramsey said at a news conference following Stout’s July 25, 2024, arrest.

Stout’s entry on the Megan’s Law website — California’s database for registered sex offenders — shows his last reported address as a mobile home park in Chico.

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