CBS News
Chico man accused of starting Park Fire pleads not guilty to arson
CHICO — The man accused of igniting the Park Fire, which has grown to be California’s fourth-largest wildfire ever, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of arson, prosecutors said Thursday.
Ronnie Dean Stout II, 42, of Chico, also denied all special circumstances relating to the arson charge and prior convictions, court records show.
Stout was arrested on July 25, the day after the fire started near Chico in Upper Bidwell Park.
Prosecutors said a man was seen pushing a burning car into a gully near Alligator Hole. Cal Fire arson investigators and the Butte County District Attorney’s Office later identified that suspect as Stout.
Stout has maintained that he did not purposely start the fire and previously did not enter a plea in an August 1 arraignment hearing that was continued to Thursday’s hearing.
Stout is next scheduled to appear in court on September 19 to set a future preliminary hearing.
Stout has two previous strike felony convictions in 2001 and 2002. He was first convicted of committing lewd and lascivious acts with a minor in Butte County. He was later convicted in Kern County of robbery with great bodily injury, for which he received a 20-year prison sentence.
The Park Fire has been burning for nearly a month and scorched around 430,000 acres in Butte and Tehama counties. CalFire said early Friday that the fire was 63% contained and had charred 429,460 acres, or 671 square miles. Four counties, including Shasta and Plumas, were impacted by evacuation orders. All orders have since been lifted.
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
CBS News
Yellowstone hiker burned when she falls into scalding water near Old Faithful, park officials say
Yellowstone National Park, Wyo. — A New Hampshire woman suffered severe burns on her leg after hiking off-trail in Yellowstone National Park and falling into scalding water in a thermal area near the Old Faithful geyser, park officials said.
The 60-year-old woman from Windsor, New Hampshire, along with her husband and their leashed dog were walking off a designated trail near the Mallard Lake Trailhead on Monday afternoon when she broke through a thin crust over the water and suffered second- and third-degree burns to her lower leg, park officials said. Her husband and the dog weren’t injured.
The woman was flown to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, Idaho for treatment.
National Park Service / Jacob W. Frank
Park visitors are reminded to stay on boardwalks and trails in hydrothermal areas and exercise extreme caution. The ground in those areas is fragile and thin and there’s scalding water just below the surface, park officials said.
Pets are allowed in limited, developed areas of Yellowstone park but are prohibited on boardwalks, hiking trails, in the backcountry and in thermal areas.
The incident is under investigation. The woman’s name wasn’t made public.
This is the first known thermal injury in Yellowstone in 2024, park officials said in a statement. The park had recorded 3.5 million visitors through August this year.
Hot springs have injured and killed more people in Yellowstone National Park than any other natural feature, the National Park Service said. At least 22 people have died from hot spring-related injuries in and around the 3,471-square-mile national park since 1890, park officials have said.