BUTTE COUNTY, CA (MPG) - Kevin Carlson, 30, of Chico, was sentenced today to the maximum term of 11 years in state prison for his arson of the Bidwell Manson on Dec. 11, 2024.

Butte County Superior Court Judge Corie Caraway imposed the sentence along with ordering Carlson to pay restitution to California State Parks for the destruction of the mansion in the amount of $37,414,083 with 10% interest to run from the date of the arson.

The judge noted she had received over 100 victim impact statements from community members who felt the extreme harm visited upon the community by the “calculated and premeditated arson”. The judge said she found “aggravating factors” sufficient to impose the maximum term despite the recommendation of the Probation Department to impose a lesser middle term of eight years in prison.