Man charged with starting massive wildfire in California as blazes burn across the West

A California man faces an arson charge after prosecutors say he started a fire near Chico that grew into a 125,000-acre blaze in less than 24 hours on Thursday, the latest wildfire to scorch its way across the West this summer.

The Chico blaze, dubbed the Park fire, is the largest in California so far this year.

Ronnie Stout, 42, is being held on no bail after California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection investigators said he started the Park Fire just before 3 p.m. Wednesday. Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said a witness saw the man pushing a flaming car down a 60-foot embankment, creating a fiery chaos to the area.

"The male was then seen calmly leaving the area by blending in with the other citizens who were in the area and fleeing the rapidly evolving fire," according to a statement from Ramsey's office. "Cal Fire arson investigators responded immediately, secured the scene, and began to search for clues to the identity of the unknown man."

Those flames caused the Park Fire, the district attorney's office said. Stout was being held in Butte County jail with no possibility of bail until he's arraigned on Monday afternoon, "undoubtedly under a count of arson," Ramsey said.

"What that count will be and what enhancements to that is yet to be determined," Ramsey said. "We hope it will not be an enhancement of great bodily injury or death, but it is still early in this fire to make that determination." So far there are no reported injuries from the fire.

It was Stout's mother's car, Ramsey said.

According to Cal Fire, the Park Fire is 3% contained. The fire has burned 124,949 acres and Tehama counties. Daniel Swain, UCLA climate scientist, said during a live YouTube video the fire is likely to become enormous and is one to be around for "weeks if not months, it might last until the fall."

"It went from 0 to 75,000 square miles overnight," he said. "I expect it’s really 100,000 square miles and it’s still growing rapidly. It established a 40-mile wide active fire line."

Many wildfires are caused by humans

The National Park Service said that nearly 85% of all wildfires are caused by humans, although many are accidental and caused from carelessness.

"Human-caused fires result from campfires left unattended, the burning of debris, equipment use and malfunctions, negligently discarded cigarettes, and intentional acts of arson," the agency said.

Arson fires may account for more than 20% of all human-caused fires, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

Earlier this year, Reugio Jimenez Jr., pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and other charges for a blaze known as the El Dorado fire in San Bernardino County. Jimenez and his wife Angelina Jimenez used a pyrotechnic device on Sept. 5, 2020, to reveal the gender of their new baby. The wildfire burned more than 22,000 acres and killed U.S. Forest Service firefighter Charles Morton.

In Arizona, the San Carlos Apache Reservation police charged tribal member Keanu Dude, 22, for arson in starting a 2,000-acre fire on July 10. An investigation is ongoing for how the fire started. The fire was contained more than a week after starting and destroyed 21 homes and forced more than 400 tribal members to evacuate.

In 2021, Alexandra Andreevna Souverneva pleaded not guilty to starting the Fawn Fire in September 2021. She was charged with several arson-related charges for the fire just north of Redding, California. The fire burned 8,578 acres, according to the Redding Record Searchlight, part of the USA TODAY Network.

Wildfires devastate communities across North America

Firefighters are monitoring 89 large active wildfires across 10 western states and Alaska, encompassing 1.2 million acres. The size and severity of the fires are driven largely in part by climate change as warmer temperatures, high winds and dry conditions help fuel fires.

"Climate change is leading to larger and more severe wildfires in the western United States," the National Climate Assessment reported.

At least 26,825 wildfires have been reported in the U.S. this year, 6,000 fewer fires than the 10-year average year to date, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. However, the total acreage burned as of Thursday morning – 3,633,567 – is almost 300,000 acres more than the 3,350,598 year-to-date average.

The National Weather Service issued red flag warnings across the northwestern portion of the country due to high expected wind gusts and low humidity. That spells bad news for fires burning along the Pacific Coast and into Canada.

Aside from the Park Fire in California, the state is battling several wildfires that have burned at least 60,000 combined acres, according to Cal Fire. In Santa Barbara County, the Lake Fire is 90% contained and burned 38,664 acres. In Tulare County, the Trout Fire is 10% contained and burned 22,231 acres.

In Oregon, the Durkee Fire has burned 268,492 acres and is 0% contained, according to the state's Wildfire Response and Recovery. In total, the state is facing 126 active fires that have burned 956,917 acres as of Thursday.

In Washington state, multiple fires are active across the state burning just over 60,000 acres, according to the state's Department of Natural Resources' fire map. The Northwest Interagency Coordination Center said midday Thursday the Big Horn, Swawilla and Bridge Creek fires are all 0% contained.

In Canada, a massive wildfire is exhausting firefighters in the Alberta province. The fire burned into the town of Jasper on Wednesday, where 25,000 residents were evacuated, and Parks Canada closed Jasper National Park to Visitors. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on X every federal agency in Canada is assisting Jasper in both firefighting and getting residents resources.

Contributing: Christopher Cann, Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY; Annie Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic; Michele Chandler, Redding Record Searchlight; Emma Logan, Salem Statesman Journal; Reuters.