The man convicted of starting the devastating Park Fire in 2024 faces up to life in prison when he's scheduled to be sentenced this October.
A Butte County judge convicted 44-year-old Ronnie Dean Stout of arson on Friday after a three-day trial.
The Park Fire started near Bidwell Municipal Park in Chico in July 2024 and burned across four different counties: Butte, Plumas, Shasta and Tehama.
Authorities say Stout pushed a flaming car down a gully in Chico and then fled.
Before it was fully contained, the fire grew to more than 429,600 acres, making it California's fourth largest fire in state history. It also destroyed or damaged more than 700 buildings.
Smoke from the fire impacted portions of Northern Nevada.
Stout is scheduled to be sentenced on October 9, 2026.
The Park Fire burned northwest of Paradise, where the Camp Fire killed 85 people in 2018, becoming California’s deadliest and most destructive wildfire.
