Witness recounts seeing car fire authorities say started Park Fire near Chico
CHICO -- Eyewitnesses are credited for helping fire investigators piece together the events that led to the start of the Park Fire burning in Butte and Tehama counties.
Wednesday afternoon, one Chico family set out to Bidwell Park and, by chance, witnessed what authorities say was the car fire that sparked the rest.
Allison Ehresman said her family was trying to find a less crowded area of the park and was on a dirt road when they were passed by another vehicle.
Ehresman said she and her husband commented on the "reckless" driving on the narrow road. She said the driver was speeding and she believed he may be under the influence.
Minutes later, she said the same vehicle must have spun out and was stuck. This is when the driver started revving his engine, spinning his wheels, and sending smoke out from the bottom of the car.
From there, flames took over the vehicle from underneath to the passenger side, according to witnesses.
The Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey confirmed that a man was seen pushing a car that was on fire into a gully near the Alligator Hole in upper Bidwell Park. The car went down the embankment 60 feet and burned completely, according to the DA.
Ehresman said her husband called 911 and together they described what they saw. The driver, identified by authorities as Ronnie Stout II, was reportedly "moving slowly" as his car burned, and walked away "calmly," according to Ramsey. Stout has since been arrested.
Witnesses who saw the fire spreading in the park notified people nearby what was happening.
A day after the incident began, more than 124,000 acres burned, and witnesses were still processing what they saw.
"I had no idea any of this was going to happen. It's really overwhelming to kind of think that it did and be the person that witnessed it start… all this devastation," Ehresman said.