News footage showing the gathering around a roaring fire when there is a burning ban in effect doesn’t arouse a great deal of sympathy, and the media don’t o much to paint a positive picture of those traveling to join the host. There are legitimate concerns about the park resources being overwhelmed and about some of the folks being insanely unprepared for conditions at the northern end of Vancouver Island. The sad fact is that there aren’t likely a lot of communities hereabouts that would offer an alternative without some up-front money for services and damage deposits, funds unlikely to be forthcoming from the Rainbow Family. I guess, since this gathering won’t inject millions of dollars into the local economy, that most communities would rather they just not hold the gathering at all, even in the case where people might approve of some of the RF outlook. So BC Parks Service has closed Raft Cove Provincial Park and will station personnel on site to ward off any new arrivals. Cited as reasons for the closure were concerns about public safety, specifically that of the campers who seemed ill-prepared for the hardships they would face. There were also worries about damage to a sensitive local environment.

However, it might seem somewhat hypocritical of the authorities in light of what is a major part of the activity that sustains communities all up and down Vancouver Island, and the manner in which that business gets conducted (see below).