California’s fast-growing Park Fire is now the fifth largest wildfire in the state’s history, having burned more than 598 square miles — a little more than the size of Los Angeles — in less than a week.
The rapidly intensifying blaze, located approximately 90 miles north of Sacramento, had a perimeter of 260 miles and was just 14% contained as of Tuesday morning, according to an online update by CalFire.
Strong winds and dry vegetation following several weeks of extreme, record-breaking heat in the region have contributed to the fire’s rapid spread in areas that haven’t experienced fire in decades. Abnormally long-lasting and intense fires are expected across the state throughout the remainder of the year due to these above-normal temperatures, fire officials said.
Flames spread as firefighters set a backfire on the eastern front of the Park Fire near Chino, California, on Sunday.
A local man accused of setting the Park Fire last Wednesday by pushing a burning car into a gully made his first court appearance on Monday and was charged with felony arson of an inhabited structure or property.
Ronnie Dean Stout II , 42, of Chico, did not enter a plea while in court. He has denied intentionally setting the fire, saying he pulled his car over into some heavy grass while it was experiencing mechanical issues. The vehicle then caught fire on its own, prompting him to flee the scene out of fear, Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said at a press conference Monday.
A plane drops fire retardant on the Park Fire near Forest Ranch, Calif., on Sunday.
A public defender listed as representing Stout did not have any comment when reached by HuffPost on Tuesday.
A person claiming to have witnessed the incident said Stout was revving the car’s engine and spinning his wheels over dry grass when the car caught fire, and he then intentionally pushed the vehicle down a hill.
Witness accounts to this point don’t suggest Stout lit the fire on purpose before pushing the car, Ramsey said. “He watched the fire develop under his car, and then got in a position in the passenger-front of the car to push the car backward into that gully.”
The charred vehicle was later examined by the California Highway Patrol and found to have been left in neutral, Ramsey said.
The sun sets over the remains of a house that was destroyed in the Park Fire near Forest Ranch, on Saturday.
Witnesses also said they saw a “highly intoxicated” Stout drinking and speeding immediately before the fire. When he was arrested hours later at his home, he was found with alcohol in his system that was above the legal limit, though there’s no evidence that he was intoxicated at that level when the fire started, Ramsey said.
Stout has two prior felony convictions. If convicted, he could face as much as a life sentence if there are any injuries or fatalities linked to “this monster” fire, Ramsey said.
“This didn’t have to happen,” he said.
More than 5,500 personnel have been battling the Park Fire, with the help of dozens of helicopters and hundreds of fire engines. At least 192 structures — residential, commercial or otherwise — have been destroyed and 19 structures have been damaged as of Tuesday, according to CalFire.
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