The Washington County Sheriff’s Office has more than doubled its patrols at the Washington County Fair on Saturday after a fight involving more than 50 juveniles and young adults broke out on Friday night.

The “brawl,” which broke out just after 10:30 p.m., was dispersed not long before midnight and resulted in two misdemeanor citations.

Fair manager and treasurer Dorie Ostertag, a staple of the county fair for nearly three decades, was there when the chaos ensued.

“Things got so out of control, groups of kids, younger kids,” she said, adding, “Really, I felt like I wasn’t in the same place as I’ve been for many years.”

“It’s just too hard to watch when you see something that you love and having someone trying to ruin it for us,” Ostertag continued.

After law enforcement broke up the initial fight and the fair shut down early, deputies learned that some of the people involved moved to the Holiday gas station across the street and another altercation ensued there, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.

Several people were hurt, but none required medical attention, officials said, adding, no weapons were reported to be involved.

A 15-year-old was cited for misdemeanor assault and an 18-year-old was cited for misdemeanor disorderly conduct, the sheriff’s office said, adding that the two cited are local to the area.

“What happened last night is something that we haven’t really ever experienced before here,” Ostertag said.

“We have had, you know, maybe a little, you know, brawl or something but we were able to manage to break it up, and it was done and they walked away,” she continued.

“They didn’t walk away last night. They just dispersed and joined somewhere else.”

The sheriff’s office developed a plan early Saturday to more than double the number of deputies patrolling the fairgrounds for the remainder of the weekend. The office is confident that the heightened presence will maintain the intended family-friendly environment, a spokesperson said.

“Come out, have some fun, eat some food, enjoy yourself, but don’t bring that drama, don’t bring the violence or anything else,” Ostertag concluded.

“That is not who we are. And we don’t ever want to be pictured as that.”