A still-raging wildfire that’s already burned more than 120,000 acres in California — making it the state’s largest of the year thus far — was started by an ex-con and registered 𝓈ℯ𝓍 offender who pushed a burning car into a park gully, authorities said Thursday.

The inferno, now known as the Park Fire, ignited when the 42-year-old suspect, Ronnie Dean Stout II, allegedly rolled the vehicle into a gully in Bidwell Park near the city of Chico just before 3 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Butte County District Attorney.

The flaming car shot 60 feet down an embankment and burned to a crisp while spreading flames into the surrounding areas — eventually prompting mass evacuations in nearby Butte and Tehama counties.

Stout was then seen calmly leaving the scene of the fire by blending in with parkgoers fleeing the “rapidly evolving fire,” the DA said in a release.

Ronnie Dean Stout II, an ex-con and registered 𝓈ℯ𝓍 offender, allegedly pushed a burning car into a park gully, starting California’s Park Fire.Butte County District Attorney’s Office

Horses evacuate as the Park Fire tears through the Cohasset community in Butte County, Calif. on July 25, 2024.AP

The blaze quickly grew in size thanks to wind gusts and was only 3% contained by Thursday evening.

Arson investigators with Cal Fire and the DA’s office identified the suspect as Stout — who was sentenced to 20 years in state prison for a 2002 robbery conviction — and arrested him early Thursday morning.

Stout, of Chico, was booked into Butte County Jail where he’s being held until his arraignment scheduled on Monday.

He is facing arson charges and has two previous “strike” felony convictions, which he’ll also be charged with under California law.

The blaze quickly grew in size thanks to wind gusts and was only 3% contained by Thursday evening.REUTERS

The car that arson investigators traced to the start of the fire in Chico, California.MIKE GILCHRIST/BUTTE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

The inferno, now known as the Park Fire, ignited when the 42-year-old suspect, Ronnie Dean Stout II, allegedly rolled the vehicle into a gully in Bidwell Park.AP

He was convicted of lewd and lascivious acts with a 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 under 14 in 2001 and robbery with great bodily injury in 2002, according to the DA.

Under the state’s “Three Strikes and You’re Out” law, Stout could be handed a life sentence if he’s convicted for the alleged arson because he has two prior convictions for “serious or violent” crimes as defined by the California Penal Code.