Security will be heavy as the man accused of starting the Park Fire will be in court for his arraignment on felony charges Monday. 42-year-old Ronnie Stout of Chico is accused of pushing a burning car into a gully full of dry heavy brush on Wednesday, which quickly grew to become an inferno. It was apparently his mother’s car. CalFire arson investigators made the arrest early Thursday. Stout was reportedly seen next to the car by a witness near the Alligator Hole in Upper Bidwell Park shortly before 3 o’clock Wednesday afternoon. The witness says he lit the car on fire, then pushed it into the gully. Stout has spent a lot of time in prison for child molestation, robbery with great bodily injury and more, according to the Butte County District Attorney.
– Steve Gibson