The wildfires spread first. Then came the rumors.

Early this week, Sheriff Rob Giordano of Sonoma County was forced to debunk false reports spread by conservative media that his office had arrested an undocumented immigrant for starting the deadly California wildfires.

And that was before Immigration and Customs Enforcement got involved.

The federal agency’s acting director, Thomas D. Homan, on Wednesday accused Sheriff Giordano’s office of refusing to respond to federal requests about the immigrant, Jesus Fabian Gonzalez, leaving the community “vulnerable to dangerous individuals and preventable crimes.”

That, Sheriff Giordano said, was “inaccurate,” “inflammatory,” and was a distraction for local authorities responding to a major natural disaster.

“Frankly, I didn’t want a public rhetoric war with the federal government,” he said on Friday. “What I want to do is put this community back together.”