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"These five decided to victimize several of our community members who are already hurting," law enforcement said in a statement on Friday. "This morning we received reports of looters in the Fall Creek Drive area. Deputies attempted to stop two cars in the area – one of the cars stopped, but the other attempted to flee and ended up in a ditch."

"In no way are we leaving these areas unsecured," they added, "we are doing our best and will continue to do our best and if you come to victimize our community you will see that."

On Saturday, the sheriff's office also issued a message to community members grappling with the ongoing fires, explaining that "first responders are struggling to get resources in and out of the evacuation zones due to the number of other people attempting to get in and out."

"There have been several instances of civilians almost hitting fire crews while driving through those areas," they wrote on Facebook. "We understand the importance of your property or something you left behind, but we are urging you to not come back into the evacuation areas until it is safe. Right now it is dangerous and presenting a number of problems."

"Additionally our dispatch center is being flooded with calls regarding people trying to get back in, please do not inundate them with calls as they need to keep lines open and we are no longer doing escorts," they added. "We are working hard to protect this county and need you to work with us."

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