The end of the rainbow has arrived, as the Rainbow Family members moved out of their Independence Day meeting grounds in northern Nevada.
Minnesota could be the 1990 site of their 19th annual counterculture bash.Friday was the last official day of the gathering, and officials estimated nearly 2,000 of the Rainbows had left Robinson Hole in the Humboldt National Forest by noon.
Minnesota was rumored to be next year's spot, said Bevan Killpack, U.S. Forest Service public information officer.
The end is coming none too soon for local law enforcement officials, who have been keeping a close watch on the group.
"We'd like for them to leave right now," said Elko County, Nev., Sheriff James Miller. The gathering has been peaceful, but every day the Rainbows stay is another day he must keep extra officers patrolling there, he said.
"We've confiscated everything from black tar heroin and marijuana to LSD and methamphetamines," he said. Sixteen people were still in jail Friday.
Also confiscated was about $300 worth of fireworks, which are banned in national forests.
Population of the communal camp peaked around July 4. Miller estimated nearly 8,000 people were at the campsite over the weekend, but Forest Service estimates put the number at about 5,500.
"They've been going out quite rapidly," said Killpack, who was brought in from the Dixie National Forest in Utah as part of a group similar to a fire team assembled to handle the "Rainbow Incident."
Recent 100-degree-plus temperatures made it difficult for some members to leave the site, as cars and pedestrians overheated.
All but 300 to 400 members of cleanup crew were to be gone by Monday. If there are any problems, the Forest Service will enforce its 14-day camping limit, which had already been exceeded by many of those who came early, he said.