After barely 48 hours, the massive Park Fire in Butte and Tehama counties has grown even more massive, adding tens of thousands of acres to its footprint every few hours.
As of Friday morning, Cal Fire reported the Park Fire as encompassing 164,000 acres, but as of the last update at 12:30 pm, it had grown to over 178,000 acres.
"The Park Fire continues to burn very actively, especially when aligned with slope and winds, resulting in spotting and quick fire movement," Cal Fire said in an update. "The fire is burning in grass, brush, mixed timber and dead vegetation."
The Park Fire remains the largest wildfire of this fire season to date, and it has surpassed the largest fires of the last two fire seasons in California — 2022's Mosquito Fire in El Dorado and Placer counties burned 76,788 acres, and the Smith River Fire Complex in Del Norte County burned 95,000 acres last year.
If it continues raging uncontained as it is now, the Park Fire could end up rivaling 2021's Dixie Fire, which nearly reached 1 million acres, burned into five different counties — including Butte and Tehama — and became the most expensive firefight in US history.
We learned late Thursday that the suspect arrested in connection with sparking the fire is 42-year-old Chico resident Ronny Stout. Stout was allegedly seen pushing a burning Toyota Yaris into a ravine filled with dry brush on Wednesday afternoon and then calmly walking away. Within hours and fueled by gusty winds, the fire had spread to thousands of acres of rural land, and had incinerated several homes.
As of Friday, Cal Fire has confirmed that 132 structures have been destroyed in the blaze.
The Chronicle appears to have made contact with Stout's mother, with whom he lived in a nearby trailer park, who said only that Stout was "a scapegoat."
"They’re saying he did it intentionally, but he didn’t. The car caught on fire," she told a reporter.
Stout is reportedly a registered sex offender, and was released from prison for an just 18 months ago, according to a neighbor. Stout has a 2020 DUI conviction, for which he was still on probation, and an armed robbery conviction that came with a 20-year sentence.
Previously: Chico Man Arrested For Allegedly Sparking Massive Wildfire By Pushing Burning Car Into Ravine
Top image via CalFire/Flickr
