Arson suspect reportedly ‘heavily intoxicated’ before Park Fire ignition

OROVILLE — The man accused of starting the Park Fire was reportedly seen leaving Bear Hole in Chico’s upper Bidwell Park “highly intoxicated” before high-centering his car near Alligator Hole on July 24, setting off the chain of events that led to the fire.

Those details were revealed by Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey during a press conference following arraignment in Butte County Superior Court of Ronnie Dean Stout II, 42, of Chico.

Stout did not enter a plea during the hearing before Judge Kristen Lucena. The judge agreed to Ramsey’s request that the suspect be held without bail, and public defender Nicole Diamond was appointed to represent him.

But after the hearing, Ramsey said witnesses had seen Stout drinking at Bear Hole before driving “recklessly” down gravel Upper Park Road at speeds of 30-50 mph. The car went over a berm just upstream from Alligator Hole, Ramsey said.

He continued that witnesses reported the sound of a motor revving and scraping noises as Stout apparently tried to free the car, his mother’s 2007 Toyota Yaris. Those efforts apparently ignited dry grass and the car.

At that point, about 3 p.m., a witness reported seeing Stout push the burning car into a 60-foot-deep ravine. Ramsey said Stout has denied pushing the car, and instead got scared when the car caught fire and left the area.

The Park Fire has since grown to more than 370,000 acres, with dozens of homes destroyed and thousands of people ordered to evacuate.