Law enforcement officials have positioned additional resources as the standoff at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns continues.

Harney County Sheriff David Ward said in a statement Tuesday evening that his agency continues to work with partners to keep the county safe while the FBI works toward a peaceful resolution at the refuge.

“Additional law enforcement resources have been moved towards locations to be poised to react to any situation that may occur,” he said in the statement. “This includes notifying the hospital of more people in town and ensuring they have the capability to handle any medical emergency.”

Ward encouraged community members to attend a 7 p.m. meeting Tuesday to hear updates and make their voices heard. He said the group occupying the refuge has broken repeated promises to leave the refuge if asked by the community, and community members asked the group to leave Jan. 4.

Ward said he met with Ammon Bundy, the leader of the occupying group, and asked them to leave the refuge Jan. 7, but Bundy refused. From that point on, he said, local, state and federal law enforcement officials have considered the group to be criminals.

“It’s clear at this point that the Bundy group does not have the interests of Harney County in mind — they’re in it for their own agenda,” Ward said in the statement. “We will continue to work to keep you safe while they continue to not keep their word.”

The sheriff also said law enforcement officials have also had multiple contacts with people who do not live in the county who claim they are there to act as intermediaries between the FBI and the group occupying the refuge. He said many of them are armed with handguns and assault rifles and are wearing body armor. He said they continue to conduct surveillance on law enforcement and have harassed members of the media.

Several people connected to the refuge occupation have been arrested or cited while traveling to or from the refuge, according to the statement:

• Oregon State Police stopped a vehicle for a lighting violation Jan. 14 and arrested the driver, Dwane Kirkland, Hamilton, Montana, on charges of felon in possession of a firearm. Police say he was in possession of a handgun and a rifle, and the vehicle he was driving had switched plates and was uninsured.

• Oregon State Police arrested Kenneth Medenbach, La Pine, at the Safeway in Burns Jan. 15 on probable cause for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. Police say they recovered two vehicles stolen from the refuge during the encounter, and occupants of the second vehicle fled before police arrived.

• Oregon State Police discovered a traffic crash on Greenhouse Lane near Highway 20 Jan. 17. Police say the driver, Darrow Burke, Ukiah, California, lost control on an icy corner and rolled the vehicle. He was uninjured but cited for driving without a license. He reportedly told troopers he had been at the refuge the past week.