The U.S. Forest Service has granted a special use permit to the huge counterculture gathering known as the Rainbow Family of Living Light on the Ochoco National Forest.

The free permit was granted Tuesday, said Forest Service spokesman Norm Hesseldahl.

About 5,000 people have gathered at the site at Indian Prairie on the Big Summit Ranger District and as many as 30,000 are expected by the Fourth of July weekend.

The Forest Service cited five people on Friday for holding a large gathering without a special use permit. The Rainbow Family had earlier refused to apply for the permit, but later changed its mind.

The permit covers such things as parking, fires, sanitation and cleaning up the site afterward.

The Forest Service has set up an incident command team, similar to those set up for large forest fires, to oversee the gathering.

The Rainbow Family has gathered at sites around the country since 1972. Hesseldahl said they had a good reputation for rehabilitating the sites afterward.