Media Investigated For 'Inexcusable Behavior' at CA Fire

The Siskiyou County, California Sheriff is blasting multiple media outlets for "inexcusable and unprofessional behavior" in their coverage of the Northern California McKinney Fire, reports News KCBS AM & FM in San Fransisco.

On Thursday, Sheriff Jeremiah LaRue accused a TV news station of abusing its privileges by bringing a civilian onto private, evacuated property in the McKinney Fire area.

In a press release Monday, LaRue doubled down on his message, calling out multiple media agencies for bringing unauthorized people into restricted areas and disturbing the scenes of burned homes.

"I cannot emphasize enough how crucial 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 investigation," he wrote.

According to LaRue, the stations invaded burnt properties that law enforcement had not yet searched for human remains. In one of the homes, authorities later found a dead body.

The Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office has now opened an investigation into ABC News, KRCR, News Channel 7, CBS News, KDRV News, Channel 12 and Los Angeles Times. Once the investigation is complete, all information will be sent to the District Attorney's Office.

The sheriff opted to release the names of the media outlets in an effort to not discredit other media partners that have respectfully covered the McKinney Fire.

"Working with the media is very important to us and we have done our best to more than accommodate them, but this behavior is only fueling distrust of media," LaRue said. "Moving forward, we hope the media will be more conscientious of the law and respect the dignity of fire victims and their families."

The McKinney Fire ignited on Aug. 29 near Highway 96 and McKinney Creed Road, southwest of Klamath River, in the northernmost part of California. Over nine days, it has grown to 60,379 acres with 60% containment.