Ronnie Stout Convicted in 429,603-Acre Park Fire, Facing 25 Years to Life
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jul 26
Ronnie Stout Convicted in 429,603-Acre Park Fire, Facing 25 Years to Life
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 26
Summary
A Butte County judge found 44-year-old Ronnie Stout guilty of arson for igniting the 2024 Park Fire after he pushed his flaming car into a gully.
Prosecutors said Stout’s 2007 Toyota Yaris caught fire after he revved the engine while stuck on a dirt ridge, then he angrily shoved it 60 feet downhill.
The Park Fire burned 429,603 acres across Northern California for two months, destroyed hundreds of homes and other structures, and became the largest intentionally set wildfire in state history.
Stout faces a minimum 25 years in prison under California’s three-strikes law because of prior robbery and child-molestation convictions; sentencing is set for October.
His lawyer disputed the verdict, arguing the evidence did not prove he willfully and maliciously caused the blaze under California’s arson statute.