Gathering of 10,000 hippies in forest shut down as Rainbow Family threatened with jail

A longtime counterculture festival now in its fifth decade and set to be held over the July Fourth holiday is being shut down, with U.S. Forest Service officials citing a lack of appropriate permitting and concerns over environmental impact.

The Rainbow Family of Living Light gathering was set to be held the first week of July in California’s Plumas National Forest. On June 25, however, the U.S. Forest Service officials issued an order asking people to leave the area, with those who refuse to go facing fines of up to $5,000 or a six-month jail sentence.

“The Forest is concerned about the 500-plus individuals already dispersed camping in a concentrated area. We are always willing to work with any organization or group interested in recreating on the national forest. There are existing and projected impacts on natural and cultural resources and other authorized uses. Our priority is maintaining public health and safety and the appropriate stewardship of public lands and natural resources,” Plumas National Forest Supervisor Chris Carlton said in a statement on Wednesday.

While the current retro wave may be more focused on the 1990s and 2000s, the Rainbow Family gathering is a self-described hippie commune that gathers once a year in the first week of July.

Meet the Rainbow Family:10,000 hippies and one (illegal) gathering in a remote Colorado forest

Rainbow Family roots go back more than 50 years

First started in Colorado in 1972, the Rainbow Family gathering was founded in part by military veterans struggling with alcoholism, drug dependence and post-traumatic stress disorder; camping out on public land in an environment like Burning Man or a Grateful Dead concert is a central part of the experience. Exactly how many people attend is unknown and varies from year to year, but the U.S. Forest Service this year estimated that the event could draw as many as 10,000 visitors.

This year, the U.S. Forest Service has described the gathering as having an “unauthorized noncommercial group use incident,” that “can have significant impacts on traffic, communities, local resources, residents, and visitors.”

That particular brand of lawlessness has often brought the gathering into conflict with local law enforcement over drug use, sanitation and damage to forests.

As USA TODAY has previously reported, many attendees will work to minimize their impact on the environment, but as with any gathering of this size previous iterations have involved incidents and arrests.  

“Every year, the Plumas National Forest sees a large surge in visitors in late June and early July, enjoying not only summer recreation in the forest, but also numerous events in our communities around the July Fourth holiday,” said Plumas National Forest Supervisor Chris Carlton in a press release earlier this week. “We understand the addition of the Rainbow Family Gathering on the Plumas National Forest raises concerns about additional impacts to our local communities, natural resources and environment and we will be working with the incident team to minimize adverse effects as much as possible.”

On Wednesday, Lassen County Supervisor Jason Ingram praised the U.S. Forest Service’s decision on social media, writing on Facebook that, “my concerns with this gathering were always the illegality aspect, the increased fire risk this would have created, the environmental impact, and the blatant disrespect shown to our local tribes. Events are fine, but not events that blatantly disregard the law and endanger our land and community fire safety.”

Max Hauptman is a Trending Reporter for USA TODAY. He can be reached at MHauptman@gannett.com