An Oroville man who prosecutors say lit the match for one of last summer's most destructive local fires has been ordered to spend 20 years in state prison. A Butte County jury previously found that he intentionally set the Thompson Fire that tore through east Oroville on July 2, 2024, destroying homes and other buildings. The conviction followed a six-day jury trial late last year, and the judge also ordered restitution for identified victims, a sentence prosecutors say matches the massive damage and the danger the blaze posed to residents and firefighters.
Spencer Anderson, 28, was convicted of arson of forest land, burning residential homes and related sentencing enhancements, then handed the 20-year term by Butte County Superior Court Judge Michael Deems, according to the Butte County District Attorney's Office. Prosecutors told the court the fire was no accident, arguing that both the scope of the blaze and Anderson's record showed he remained a serious danger to the community.
How investigators say the fire started
Cal Fire arson investigators laid out a trail of surveillance footage, physical evidence and witness statements that they say tied Anderson to the ignition point on Cherokee Road in east Oroville. Investigators said license-plate reader data placed a Toyota sedan at the scene around the time the fire erupted, and that Anderson admitted he had bought fireworks and "testing one" by tossing it from his car. Prosecutors said that admission became a central pillar of the case, and local coverage broke down those investigative steps in detail, as reported by KTVU.
Damage and restitution
According to prosecutors, the Thompson Fire destroyed 13 homes and 21 other structures, triggered sweeping evacuations and forced firefighters into dangerous conditions as flames pushed through populated hillsides. At sentencing, the court ordered $2,690,459 in restitution to identified victims, with officials noting that many losses remain unresolved while insurance claims work their way through the system. "Intentionally setting a wildfire is among the most dangerous crimes a person can commit in our community," the district attorney's office stated in its release, according to the Butte County District Attorney's Office.
Legal context and prior record
Anderson faced charges that included arson of an inhabited structure and arson of forest land, along with special allegations and enhancements that pushed his potential prison exposure into decades. Reporting at the time of his arrest noted that he had prior felony convictions treated as a strike for sentencing, which increased the possible penalties and helped shape prosecutors' push for a lengthy term, according to The Los Angeles Times and other local outlets.
With the sentence now handed down, the district attorney's office has characterized the outcome as a measure of accountability for families who lost homes and for first responders who faced the fast-moving fire. Local news reports and the county's release have highlighted the investigative work that tied Anderson to the ignition point and the court's conclusion that a long prison term was warranted. Officials also note that additional restitution claims may still be filed by victims as their losses are fully documented, according to Fox40.
