The Butte County District Attorney’s Office said a 42-year-old Chico man is accused of starting the Park Fire. [emphasis, links added]
Ronnie Dean Stout II was arrested after he was seen pushing his mother’s car that was on fire into a gully near the Alligator Hole in upper Bidwell Park shortly before 3 p.m. on Wednesday.
That was around the same time the Park Fire sparked.
Fresno Police discovered the decomposing body of a man in a shed near Nicholas and Florence Thursday.
Officers responded Thursday morning after a neighbor said they discovered a human skull. Foul play is not suspected at this time. @ABC30 pic.twitter.com/A8pLxkF8zE— Jessica Harrington (@JessicaABC30) July 26, 2024
A photo released by the DA’s office showed a vehicle and the nearby vegetation largely scorched.
How the fire compares to past years
The Park Fire has become the largest wildfire in California since the Dixie Fire, which sparked in July 2021 and went on to burn more than 963,000 acres.
In 2023, the largest fire in the state was the Smith River Complex Fire in Del Norte. That fire spread to 95,107 acres.
In 2022, the largest fire in the state was the Mosquito Fire, which spread to 76,788 acres.
The total acreage burned by fire in 2023 was 324,917, while in 2022 it was 331,358 acres.
Read full article at KCRA
