California wildfire: Convicted felon blamed for record blaze

42-year-old California resident Ronnie Dean Stout II caused the state’s largest fire of the year while trying to dispose of his car. He is currently in custody awaiting formal charges while hundreds of firefighters are battling the blaze, which has already consumed over 48,000 hectares in Butte and Tehama counties.

Investigators are convinced that the fire was started by Stout, a former convict and registered sex offender.

According to the Butte County Prosecutor’s Office, the man pushed the burning car into a ravine in Bidwell Park near the city of Chico. The car rolled down 18 metres, and the fire quickly spread to surrounding brush and trees. Investigators released photos of the burned vehicle surrounded by scorched vegetation.

As reported by "Super Express," at the sight of the fire, residents began to flee.

[The man was seen] "calmly leaving the area by blending in with the other citizens who were in the area and fleeing the rapidly evolving fire – said Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey.

Stout was detained early in the morning and transported to the Butte County Jail. According to the warrant, he is being held without bail until he is charged next Monday, the prosecutor added.

Stout has a conviction for lewd behaviour with a child under 14 from 2001 and a 20-year prison sentence for robbery from 2002. As a twice-convicted felon, he could now, under California’s "Three Strikes and You’re Out" law, be sentenced to life in prison.

Meanwhile, fire crews from the California Fire Department are battling the blaze named Park Fire. According to "Super Express," the fire has already consumed over 505 square kilometres of land and was only 3 percent contained on Thursday afternoon.

Authorities in Butte and Tehama counties have ordered the evacuation of residents, attempting to protect them from the spreading fire.