UPDATE: Siskiyou sheriff investigating media conduct during McKinney Fire

Five media outlets are under investigation for their conduct while reporting events during the McKinney Fire, the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office said.

“I’d like the public to know we are actively investigating complaints of the media’s conduct during the McKinney Fire. I am in communication with the (Siskiyou County) District Attorney’s Office about these allegations, and once our investigation is complete, we will be submitting it to the District Attorney,” Sheriff Jeremiah LaRue stated in a Facebook post Monday.

The allegations involve ABC News, KRCR News Channel 7, CBS News, KDRV News Channel 12 and the Los Angeles Times, the sheriff said.

LaRue said over the past week his office has learned the media have allegedly brought unauthorized people into evacuation zones, heard reports of trespassing on private property and disturbing the property where homes have burned where law enforcement continues to search for human remains.

In addition, “We are looking into complaints of media personnel opening burnt car doors of vehicles burned in the fire to photograph and film them,” Siskiyou County sheriff’s spokeswoman Courtney Kreider said.

News of the investigation of the five news outlets comes nearly a week after the sheriff’s office sent out a reminder to media not to violate state law when entering fire zones and other disaster areas.

That notice was prompted by an incident on Aug. 1 in which a news outlet brought someone who was not affiliated with the media past a McKinney Fire closure checkpoint, went onto private property and televised a segment with that person, according to the sheriff's office.

Under the California Penal Code, the media has access into closed areas to report about events in disaster areas that are often closed to the public, including active fires.

“I cannot emphasize enough how critical it is that fire scenes are not tampered with and that burned homes are not disturbed in order to preserve the integrity of each scene for the investigations,” LaRue said.

Kreider said the sheriff’s office has seen the reports in question and “we have gotten complaints also from the community and from our deputies and law enforcement officers that are assisting us, so it’s been a compilation.”

The McKinney Fire started July 29 and is the largest wildfire to date this year in California. The cause of the blaze is under investigation.

As of Monday, the McKinney Fire was 60,379 acres and 40% contained, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

At least four people have died in the fire and the blaze has destroyed an estimated 132 buildings, including 87 homes.

Kreider did not know when the sheriff's office will forward its investigation to the Siskiyou County District Attorney's Office

KRCR News Channel 7 anchor Mike Mangas said during the Redding station's 5 p.m. newscast Monday that the station disputes the allegations.

"We here at KRCR have followed the rules regarding media access in all situations and we respect the work of all first-responders and the difficult job they do on a daily basis. We also respect the privacy of families who have suffered losses because of the fire," Mangas told viewers.

He added that the station has contacted the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office multiple times to get more information about the allegations and is still waiting to hear back.

The Los Angeles Times responded to the allegations Tuesday morning.

"L.A. Times journalists had a right to report on these highly newsworthy events about the McKinney fire that devastated areas of Siskiyou County. Our journalists followed California law, which allows the news media to report on disaster scenes," Hillary Manning, the paper's vice president of communications, said in an email.

KDRV, the ABC affiliate in Medford, Oregon, did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

David Benda covers business, development and anything else that comes up for the USA TODAY Network in Redding. He also writes the weekly "Buzz on the Street" column. He’s part of a team of dedicated reporters that investigate wrongdoing, cover breaking news and tell other stories about your community. Reach him on Twitter @DavidBenda_RS or by phone at 1-530-338-8323. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Siskiyou sheriff investigating media conduct during McKinney Fire