Hundreds of people attending the annual Rainbow family reunion have been forced to leave a Northern California national forest in just two days, or face fines and jail time.
The National Forest System ordered the more than 500 members of the Living Light Rainbow Family to pack their bags Wednesday or face fines of up to $5,000 or up to six months in jail.
Any new members of the counterculture movement who appear in the coming days would also be subject to fines, and if members do not leave the site within 48 hours, authorities would consider other options.
National Forest System officials say the order was issued to protect the land’s natural, tribal and cultural resources, in addition to concerns about fire safety and public health. reports the San Francisco Chronicle.
The annual Rainbow Family Reunion had already drawn 500 people to the Plumas National Forest on Wednesday, and more are expected to arrive in the coming days.
Members of the Rainbow Family of Living Light began setting up camp in the Plumas National Forest on Monday, but within days, the number of people gathering in the forest skyrocketed. KRCR Reports.
It is expected to grow even more in the coming days, drawing some 10,000 attendees to the area ahead of a large-scale celebration on the Fourth of July.
But the group, which claims to have no leader, did not apply for a special use permit from the U.S. National Park Service, which is required for any event involving more than 75 people.
The group has indicated that it does not claim any leader and, consequently, there is no one to sign these permits.
As the group of countercultural protesters continued to grow, National Park Service officials said they began to worry that their gathering threatened public health and safety.
The US National Forest Service has ordered members to leave the area.
If they do not evacuate after 48 hours, authorities would consider other options
“The forest is concerned about the more than 500 individuals already dispersed camping in a concentrated area,” Chris Carlton, supervisor of the Plumas National Forest, said in a statement to the Chronicle.
He noted that the National Park Service is “always willing to work with any organization or group interested in recreating in the national forest” and said the priority is “maintaining public health and safety and the proper stewardship of public lands and natural resources”.
But the group had already begun digging latrine trenches, digging compost pits and drawing water from Indian Creek before the evacuation order was issued Wednesday. Action News Now reports.
Members also trampled local vegetation and officials became concerned about the risk of bushfires, stating there would be a “zero tolerance” policy for any fires in the area, which is expected to experience higher than average temperatures over the next few years. days. increasing the risk of a forest fire.
“No fire will occur,” Coda Witt, incident commander for the National Forest Service, said at a community meeting Tuesday night.
‘If they have a can of beans up there and they need to eat it, it will be a cold can of beans. We’re not going to mess around with fire restrictions.
Forest Service officials said they had ‘zero tolerance’ for fires in the Plumas National Forest.
Forest Service officials now say they are planning to enforce the evacuation order, which Lassen County Supervisor Jason Ingram praised.
“I think this is the first Rainbow Gathering event that’s been taken down, and you all had something to do with it,” he said of the service.
‘As I have said from the beginning, my concerns with this meeting were always the aspect of illegality, the increased fire risk this would have created, the environmental impact and the blatant disrespect shown to our local tribes.
“Events are fine,” Ingram continued, “but not events that blatantly ignore the law and endanger our land and the fire safety of our community.”
But in a public facebook group Titled Rainbow Gathering 2024, one member said they are now considering an alternative site for their annual meeting.
Rainbow’s first national reunion was held in 1972, partly as a result of the community many young people felt at the 1969 Woodstock music festival.
The meeting takes place every year on a national forest land.