CHICO — The man accused of igniting the Park Fire, which has grown to become California’s fourth-largest wildfire on record, has pleaded not guilty to an arson charge, prosecutors said Thursday.
Ronnie Dean Stout II, 42, of Chico, also denied any special circumstances related to the arson charge and prior convictions, court records show.
Stout was arrested on July 25the day after the fire started near Chico in Upper Bidwell Park.
Prosecutors said a man was seen pushing a burning car into a ravine near Alligator Hole. Arson investigators with Cal Fire and the Butte County District Attorney’s Office later identified the suspect as Stout.
Stout has maintained that he did not intentionally start the fire and that he previously did not enter a plea in an Aug. 1 hearing that continued into Thursday’s hearing.
Stout is next scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 19 to set a future preliminary hearing.
Stout has two prior felony convictions in 2001 and 2002. He was first convicted of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor in Butte County. He was later convicted in Kern County of robbery with great bodily harm, for which he received 20 years in prison.
The park fire has been burning for nearly a month, burning about 430,000 acres in Butte and Tehama counties. CalFire said early on August 23 that the fire was 63% contained and had charred 429,460 hectares, or 671 square kilometers. Four counties, including Shasta and Plumas, were affected by evacuation orders. All orders have since been cancelled.