Promoter Says Forest Service Knew Event in Mountains Was a Rave : Crash: Officials concede they were aware of the nature of the party and issued permit when assured there would be no drugs. Five teenagers died in car after leaving the site.

The promoter of a rave party in the Angeles National Forest, where five departing teenagers died when their car plunged down a mountain, said Tuesday that the U.S. Forest Service knew the nature of the event when it issued a permit.

“They knew what it was,” said Brian Alper, 25, one of three partners in B-3 Cande Productions, the Huntington Beach company that hosted the event Saturday night. “They very well knew it was a rave.”

Alper said he met with officials of the Forest Service and the California Highway Patrol on Aug. 23 to prepare for the event. While the term “rave” was not put on the Forest Service permit, he said, the agency’s representatives used the word to describe the event throughout their meeting.

Meanwhile, relatives of a teenage girl who died in the crash said Tuesday that the Forest Service--which reaped a 3% cut from the party’s ticket sales--should never have allowed the event in the first place.

“In my eyes, they are totally liable for what happens up there,” said Keith Stringer, the stepfather of 17-year-old Nicole Martell. “I think they were thinking more about money.”

Initially, Forest Service officials said they were unaware that the party at the Snowcrest ski resort was a rave--an all-night dance featuring throbbing techno music played by disc jockeys.

Many law enforcement officials say drug use is widespread at raves, which the federal Bureau of Land Management has banned in desert areas. Paramedics treated three people for drug overdoses at the Saturday rave, which drew 5,000 people.

On Tuesday, however, Forest Service officials softened their stance, saying they had indications the event was a rave but allowed it based on assurances that no drugs would be allowed.

“Obviously before the event, we were aware that it was promoted by Raveworld,” said spokeswoman Gail Wright. “When this promoter came to us and assured us that [it] would be a concert under control, it seemed a valid request. Their position was that it would be drug- and alcohol-free.”

Added Michael J. Rogers, the forest supervisor who signed the permit: “These concerts are legitimate events. This was an unfortunate tragedy.

“But you have to remember 4,000 or 5,000 people who went up to the event came back down safely,” he said. “If you look at the stats, you should look at the people who drive off that road normally.”

Stringer said he did not know that Martell, an honors student at Aquinas High School in Highland, was attending the rave.

“If I would have known, I would have driven my car right up there and got her out of there,” he said.

He said he was stunned to learn that such a party could take place legally on public land.

“Up in the mountains? These kids are going to be driving,” he said. “Have you ever stayed up all night? You fall asleep at the wheel.”

Officials stressed that there is no evidence that drugs played any part in the fatal accident. Toxicology tests on the five teenagers are still pending.

The party, titled JuJubeats, was the third annual event held under that name, promoters said. Two years ago, it was at the Snowcrest ski resort, and last year’s JuJubeats took place at Santa’s Village in the San Bernardino Mountains, also along winding mountain roads.

The mountainous terrain was one reason his company had hired the CHP to help patrol the event, Alper said. It agreed to pay the agency $3,621.60 for five officers, one sergeant and three patrol cars to work the roads outside the event.

Alper emphasized that he believed the event was planned and conducted responsibly. He added that none of the agencies involved in the planning told him they thought it would be unsafe.

The other two partners in B-3 Cande Productions, Brett Ballou and Brock Anderson, could not be reached for comment.

There were mixed reports of how common drugs were at the event. Joseph Santana, director of operations for Olympic Personnel Security, which provided 70 security guards for the event, said there would have been more problems during a rock concert.

“We were frisking them going in, catching most of the stuff,” he said. “A little bit of weed, nothing significant.”

Others at the event said that drug use was widespread and open. While no alcohol was allowed in the event, they said, many ravegoers drank out on the highway.

“The Forest Service guy was walking with me, smelling all the weed,” said one person who worked at the event. “He turned to me and said, ‘It’s like being in the ‘60s.’

“It really kills me that they legally let these go on,” he said.

Alper said Forest Service officials have told him they will not allow any similar parties at Snowcrest in the future. But the officials themselves stopped short of a prohibition and said they were evaluating the situation.

The Forest Service generally receives 2% to 3% of the gross revenues from the ski resort, said Marlene Finley, a concession specialist with the agency. Officials said 4,800 tickets were sold at $30 each, making the agency’s take somewhere above $2,880.

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Times correspondent Richard Winton contributed to this story.