No they were not. Those 'drones' as you call it and so readily believe what the media spoon fed you, were not the quadcopters everyone now imagines.
Those 5 aircraft were RC gliders that were operating from an established, air chart marked, field. they were fixed wing aircraft that had been in the air for many hours before the wildfire was a problem. There is no practical or legitimate way for those operators were to know of fires springing up in the distance and creeping into the area. There was no TFR in effect for that location at that time and this nothing illegal took place. As soon as the operators were aware of manned aircraft there, they descended and cleared the airspace even though they were taking part in what was supposed to be some kind of flight time record.
The media never bothered to look into the details and even when it is repeatedly pointed out to them, they never update the story, chosing to continue the fear mongering, which you apparently have bought into.