Just read on here that there will be a fire ban starting today. The poster mentioned that the ban will mean no kitchens, not just personal kitchens. So what does this mean for all?
Fires contained within a liquid-fueled or gas stoves are allowed during the fire ban. For personal use my favorites are rubbing alcohol burining soda and cat can stoves. See: http://zenstoves.net/Stoves.htm
how exactly are the kitchens supposed to function? how will they boil water for drinking? Has this ever happened before at a gathering? Did the kitchens obey the ban?
Stage II bans in Colorado exclude all sparking methods of fire. Propane, LP gas and liquid stoves are allowed. BUT, I'd look up forest regs to make sure there are no restrictions on liquid fuel stoves. Call your local office, say you are going to Carson National Forest and wanted to know.
so lets feed 18,000 people on propane,,..?? yeah try passin the majic hat for that an makin it work.. anyone know a rainbow that owns a propane company??? hey dood could ya spare,,ohh say 10,000 pounds of propane...??? hehehhe,, that dont include stayin warm.. some muther fucker near this gatherin would make some cash...
um yes it has,, but if im not mistaken the bans have never been this harsh,, but perhaps we are misreading the press,,.. some lawyer will know the loop hole.. wheres wanderin turn up when ya need him?? but i diegress,, herees the article.. http://home.earthlink.net/~kzirk/scroll/Arizona/detroitnews.html They call it Weirdstock: Rainbow Family, Forest Service clash again Jeff Robbins / Associated Press</STRONG> Rainbow Family members from left, William Newton Lee, Stephen Seaton and Douglas Claire Seaton share a laugh with passersby in front of their "Sail Bus" campsite inside the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest outside of Greer, Ariz. They will join up to 20,000 other Rainbow Family members now converging on the site. </FONT> By Julie Cart / Los Angeles Times CARNERO LAKE, Ariz. -- Don't be misled by the dope smoking, the incessant drumming, the incense haze and the twirling dancers. This is nothing less than a Constitutional Convention, a referendum on the right to assemble. To many, the 27th Gathering of the Tribes for World Peace and Healing is a freaky, funky, smelly assemblage of anarchists, Druids, tree-worshiping Pagans and latter-day hippies. They call it Weirdstock. To the 20,000 members of the Rainbow Family camped here in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, this annual Fourth of July weekend event is about the right to live without interference on what is, after all, public land. The U.S. Forest Service, along with other law enforcement entities, does not see it that way. They see a significant environmental impact over 1,100 acres, a high incidence of unlawfulness and an illegal use of national land. As they have every summer for more than a quarter century, the Rainbow Family is facing off against an assortment of armed officers, defending themselves only with smiles, offers of herbal tea and dogma heavily reminiscent of the founding fathers' cry for personal freedom. Allen Firesong, who has been coming to gatherings for 20 years, said the event is about a sense of community. "It's the energy of the people," he said. "It's the same whether it's 300 or 30,000. We just take care of each other. ... You have to experience it to know what it's all about. It's an experiment in living peacefully together. To have everybody fed, everybody happy, treat everyone's feelings so that they are valuable and important." Aside from its political statement, the gathering looks pretty much like a weeks-long rock concert. Once the site was selected, members began to arrive as early as mid-June. They scouted the forest, located at an elevation of 9,000 feet near the Arizona-New Mexico border, just west of Springerville. The Forest Service was here then, too. Its national incident team was organized a year ago to handle the Rainbows, who represent the largest single recreational users of federal forests. Local towns are affected by the gathering; the assembly is now the largest city, by far, in Apache County. The presence of so many people without a permit is being challenged in U.S. district court. The Rainbows respond that they have a right to peaceable assembly, and find it especially relevant to do so on the Fourth of July. The gathering, said a 21-year-old from Arkansas named Never, is about being an American: "Ya know, when I was at home for the Fourth, we never talked about what the holiday was about. Here, we are celebrating what it is to live here (in America) ... our freedoms." Still, they have been engaged in a running battle with authorities for decades. Among the concerns: -- Traffic from more than 4,000 vehicles making their way to the remote site. Already scores of citations have been issued. Rainbows say they are being harassed by police, who pull over vehicles for minor violations and use the stop as a pretext to search for drugs. -- Garbage from the gathering is expected to reach more than 25 tons, which the family will collect and dispose of. There are recycling bins around the site, all trash is bagged and even the Forest Service admits the group has an exemplary record for leaving sites clean. -- Water, or lack of it, is a problem. Family members are trucking in water daily and "borrowing" from a local spring. The shortage has meant that water must be used sparingly for cooking, cleaning of utensils and washing hands. Only. Officals say local businesses have removed the handles from their outdoor taps to prevent Rainbows from stealing water. Family members say locals have helped by donating water. -- Dogs. There is an estimated one dog per three people. After last year's gathering in Oregon, more than 100 dogs were left behind. -- Fires. There is an open fire ban in effect. Intermittant storms have not lessened the fire danger. In fact, forest officials fear lightning-caused blazes. As in most regards, the Family prefers to police itself. Rainbow fire wardens prowl the site in search of open fires. Generally, the fire regulations have been observed. However, late one recent night, an unauthorized fire had to be smothered: Drowsy fire wardens were making coffee. -- Environment. There are no bathrooms for the 20,000 Rainbows, who have dug slit latrines. This has caused concern about ground-water contamination. In addition, rangers say the ground is severely compacted by foot traffic and will require about a year to recover. Rainbows say they minimize impact on the trails and re-seed meadows. An aerial scan by Arizona Fish and Game officers confirmed that the majority of the wildlife in the area have fled in the face of such a mass of humanity. Within the various camps, signs are posted regarding respect for the streams, forest and grasslands. Interestingly, these messages are invariably affixed by nails hammered into trees. Through it all, the Rainbow philosophy of "whatever" prevails. The vast, leaderless collective operates on a consensus system, and is adamant that it has no hierarchy. There are Rainbows all over the world, and the whereabouts of the national gathering is made known by word of mouth and the Internet. Their anarchist's bent notwithstanding, the gatherings are highly organized. Rainbows are not so counterculture that they don't provide a media tent, a sophisticated system of radio checkpoints and a highly vigilant group watching the "front and back doors." Drake, who was among the first family members to set up camp, said: "It's amazing to be one of the first people to go into the area and look around and say, 'This is a good place for my family.' " The various camps spill across vast meadows, stands of pine and Aspen trees and over stream beds. Trails lead from camp to camp, such as Teepee Camp, Barbarian Camp for teen-agers, Kiddie Camp for children with swings and puppet shows and the ever present A Camp, for those who care to drink. According to Rainbow Rap 151 -- from the set of guidelines for the gathering -- "It is the tradition in our family to discourage alcohol use at the gathering. The gathering is a prayer and peace sanctuary, not a tailgate party." But being an inclusive group, the family allows A Camp, which by mutual agreement is located on the edge of the gathering -- because family members strive to keep alcohol at a distance from the main camp and, as one A Camper noted: "We want to be a reasonable keg-hauling distance from the road." The site is fully self-contained. There are about a dozen kitchens, as well as a highly efficient bakery that uses mud ovens. There is a medical tent, a lost and found, outgoing mail and message center. Although Rainbows are commonly perceived as aging hippies, in practice the gathering is intergenerational. The most common fashion look is long dreadlocked hair, strings of beads and a flowing dress or skirt. The women are even more elaborately clothed. There are few rules. Clothing is optional, sex is free, no weapons are allowed, the use of hard drugs is discouraged, but marijuana -- green energy -- is everywhere. The atmosphere is redolent with the dense, sweet smell of marijuana, mingled with incense, dust, and, overwhelmingly, body odor. To put it politely, personal hygiene is iffy. Some family members have been here for two weeks, and the combination of high temperatures and precious little water have made this gathering a highly fragrant one. Cary, who like most Rainbows has freed himself of his last name, has been to 22 gatherings and says this one is a peaceful as all the rest. Rainbows strive to build good relations with the local communities. "The people here have been great," he said, flipping a long blond braid across his back. "They are even bringing us water. There are no problems." Tim, who makes a living selling tie-dyed clothing, said the younger Rainbows must be taught the spiritual and philosophical underpinnings of the event. "It's misconstrued as a party by some of the younger people," he said as he passed a group of scantily clad dancers. The problem is that no one agrees about the exact nature of Rainbow philosophy and the precise point of the gathering. Saturday will be the highlight: Silence from sunrise to midday and a mass prayer/chant for peace as the throng is seated in a circle. "You can feel a sense of God, you can feel the power," Tim said of the chant. "There have been a lot of positive changes brought by people who come to places like this and were able to get out of their personal situations long enough to take a look at the bigger picture." (Optional add end) Holly is an elder Rainbow, with her graying hair matted into spikes radiating outward from her head. The family, she said, is all about constitutional rights. Just like the first Americans. "I used to wear the business suit, I went to college, I lived that life," she said while tie-dying striped officials' shirts for a family football game. "I want the world to know that we're all not all funky, tripping, punks." Outside her tent, the rain had finally stopped and a half-rainbow arced across the newly blue sky. Cosmic. Copyright 1998, The Detroit News
we know that bus! Yeah we were in AZ for that fire ban. Kiddie Village had a lot of propane power. for our kitchen, cooking was a bit of a problem, small cookstoves can't get large pots of water to a boil. Luckily. the fire ban didn't last long for kitchen fires. More & more kitchens have gravity-fed water filter systems, so water shouldn't be a big problem & food, well, supply will probaly deal with it like they did in AZ, by getting as much fresh food that doesn't require cooking as possible.
the problem is the burn ban. One fire has already started, and put out when we couldn't handle it, by Forest service (don't cows go to get serviced? I digress) anything with a spark in high winds is a recipie for disaster. Routt county or the feds could ban outdoor smoking. It gets done in Colorado. and hHB, we could burn all the A camp liquid fuels... everclear, Jack and such... heh heh heh
Probably off on a run to Kroger to get Peanut Butter and Chocolate Ice Cream for his Pregnant Woman...
just saw this on AGRO.. Howdy Family, Well, things are really coming along now. The Forest Service quotes 4,000 people, but their method is to usually count cars and multiply that by a factor of around 4. So...in reality, we likely have 2,000-3500 people up here. Springs are tapped, the sail at GFunk is raised (arrrgh), and the Popcorn is flowing. There is a serious concern for forest fires here. There is a personal fire ban, and only kitchens are allowed to have a controlled fire. Parking is a concern, as there needs to be ample room for fire trucks and evacuations. If you must park on the road, everyone is parking to the right (as you are driving in). It is highly recommended that you turn your car around 180degrees in case of evacuation. I don't intend to alarm, but health and safety are very important to me and I want to see my family prepared. There has been LEO presence again and they are stopping random cars at road blocks. Their hours of operation seem to be from 10am to 6pm. I have seen cars being searched and, rumor has it, that by law, only every 3rd car can be searched. Safety in numbers/caravaning or getting in very early or later might help--these are opinions of mine. It's dark by 9pm. Personally, when I got stopped at the road block last, they just informed me about the fire ban and that this is an "illegal gathering" and that I could be subject to a ticket. Then they waved me through. Lots of love and hugs when you all get here, so come on home Lovin you, MB