The U.S. Forest Service told hundreds of people who were at an unofficial camp for a “Rainbow Family” party that they had to leave the Plumas National Forest within 48 hours or face fines or jail time.
The order was sent to the more than 500 members of the Rainbow Family on Wednesday. The Rainbow Family is known as the “world’s largest non-organization of non-members.” It was said that the group does not have and has not asked for a special use permit, which is needed for any event with 75 or more people. They could get up to $5,000 in fines or six months in jail if they don’t leave their camp within 48 hours of being told to. The camp is about 5 miles north of Antelope Lake Recreation Area.
Every year, during the first week of July, the group gets together at different national parks. The Forest Service says the first meeting took place in 1972 in Denver’s Arapaho National Forest. The group says it doesn’t have any leaders or organization. The public is welcome to attend the free events, where people meditate, pray, and observe in peace.
Based on past events called “Rainbow Gatherings,” the group usually sets up camps, kitchens with working ovens, medical stations, and a “Main Meadow” where people can gather for meals, said Hilary Markin, a spokesperson for the Forest Service incident management team, at an online meeting on Tuesday.
Markin said that the stoves and ovens are not following fire safety rules. The group also often digs holes for toilets, waste piles, and gray water systems.
Markin said that last year’s event, which took place in New Hampshire’s White Mountain National Forest, extended over 300 acres and had 23 camps. At its busiest, the show drew about 2,200 people.
An estimated 10,000 people will attend this year’s event in the Plumas National Forest. As of Tuesday, the event had already spread out over 900 acres, according to officials.
Commander of the incident management team Coda Whitt said at the meeting on Tuesday that there would be “zero tolerance” for people polluting, littering, or dunking things into the river and that “immediate action” would be taken if these things were found.
Whitt said, “We’re always behind the curve when we try to figure out where they’re going next so that we can get stuff in place on the ground to try to stop it before it gets too big.”
Markin says that police are presently walking around the gathering spot and keeping an eye out for any threats to public safety.
Markin said that right after the event, members of the group normally take down the camp’s infrastructure, loosen up the ground, and try to restore the forest as best they can. Some members stay behind after the meeting to keep fixing up the land.
People who are going to the event have been warned by the Plumas County Sheriff’s Office that “there will be a substantial law enforcement presence” to “enforce a zero-tolerance policy toward any illegal activities or behaviors that threaten public safety or our natural resources.”
People who live in Plumas, which has about 19,000 people, have been told to expect traffic and delays as people rush to the area for the event.
Source: LA Times
