OROVILLE MAN SENTENCED FOR RECKLESSLY CAUSING FIRE
10/14/2026 "Press Release" - Butte County District Attorney's Office
John Matthew Francis, 68, of Oroville, was sentenced to three years in state prison today at the Butte County Superior Court. Francis had previously pleaded no contest in September to one count of recklessly causing a fire.
Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said that on August 18, 2026, at approximately 9:22 p.m., Cal Fire firefighters responded to a vegetation fire at Lincoln Boulevard and Ophir Road in Oroville, California. Arson investigators contacted Francis, who was transient and a registered sex offender on Post Release Community Supervision from prison. He had been cooking food over an open flame in a field of tall, dry grass when a piece of hot debris escaped the pan while his back was turned.
According to the investigators, Francis made no efforts to prevent a fire from breaking out before he began cooking in the field. The fire burned a 30’ by 30’ patch of grass and half of a large olive tree. A neighborhood of 100 homes abutted the orchard where Francis was recklessly cooking on a warm, dry evening.
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