Today kicks off the “official” gathering of the Rainbow Family, this year on a beautiful site 35 miles north of Steamboat Springs. The Rainbow Family of Living Light is comprised of folks from across the country who gather annually on federal land for peace vigils and celebration of Native American traditions. The ideals of the gathering, however, have been clouded by conflict over the crowd’s failure to obtain permits from the Routt National Forest.
This year’s gathering, indeed, is an illegal one, expected to lure 20,000 people, and sad to say, the Rainbow Family couldn’t have picked a worse spot.
Conditions in the forest area where the Rainbow Family is gathering are a Smokey Bear nightmare. The region is dry from drought and, even worse, suffering from beetle damage. Mountain pine beetles have infested large patches of the forest, resulting in dry, dead trees – the perfect fuel for a forest fire.
Kim Vogel from the Forest Service says that the problem won’t be eased for months at the soonest, until the beetles are exposed to freezing temperatures without the protection of snow. “Snow keeps the beetles warm and alive in cold conditions,” she says. In any event, many trees already are dead, posing a huge fire danger, and thousands of hippies are settled in the center of it, with every campfire a danger.
If there is a fire, the Rainbow gathering will be in grave danger, with little access to a safe evacuation route. “There is one road in and one road out,” says Diane Rithschard of the Forest Service. “If someone causes a fire it will be near impossible to evacuate everybody safely.”
The safety of the gathering is the Forest Service’s main concern – that’s why it refused to issue the permits in the first place. Rithschard describes the agency as being “between a rock and a hard place” in trying to enforce its rules. Though the gathering is illegal, the Forest Service is working with – not against – the members of the gathering to prevent fires. They are discussing fire safety, clean campsites and an evacuation plan for a worst-case scenario.
Police and Forest Service officers have sparked hostility from several members of the Rainbow Family. There have been reports of yelling, vulgar language and even violence in the presence of officers. While this behavior only reflects a small part of the group, it definitely dampers the celebration and its purpose.
Participants in the gathering who are enraged at the restrictions should realize that the concerns of the Forest Service are more than valid. Next year they may want to plan their location a little more carefully.
