Burning Man doused: Warning goes out to 73,000 'trapped' at site as weather closes in
BLACK ROCK CITY, NEVADA: The Burning Man was shut down after a colossal rainstorm wreaked havoc on the festival site in the Nevada desert on Friday, September 1, leaving tens of thousands of attendees stranded.
Organizers were compelled to instruct festivalgoers to hunker down in their shelters and adopt measures to preserve essential resources, such as food and water.
"Do not travel to Black Rock City! Access to the city is closed for the remainder of the event, and you will be turned around," read a post from the Burning Man organizers.
Do not travel to Black Rock City! Access to the city is closed for the remainder of the event, and you will be turned around.
— Burning Man Traffic (@bmantraffic) September 2, 2023
Why was the Burning Man shut down?
Around six inches of rain fell on Friday, September 1, at the festival location, roughly 110 miles north of Reno, as reported by the National Weather Service. The heavy rainfall made the festival grounds inaccessible, as per Daily Mail.
It is believed that the torrential storms brought the most substantial amount of rain the event has experienced since its inception in 1986.
When you go to Burning Man for fun in the desert but it rains six inches and floods and you think you're just going to drive out of the mud because you have a Jeep Wrangler.#BurningMan #BurningMan2023 pic.twitter.com/8MJ12wUYjF
— 🌈 Tess T. Eccles-Brown, PhD (@TTEcclesBrown) September 3, 2023
The US Bureau of Land Management explained that an additional three inches of rain is expected from late Saturday, September 2, into Sunday, September 3, and conditions aren't likely to get better enough for vehicles to enter the playa, the huge open-air esplanade where the event unfolds.
As per reports, revelers at the festival have experienced hypothermia due to these unusual storms. Organizers have urged those already on-site to save food, water, and fuel as well as to seek shelter in a warm, safe place as of Saturday.
They said the rain wouldn't likely stop until Sunday night at the location of the festival, which was supposed to end on Monday, September 4.
60,000 people stuck at burning man and it’s not looking good. There is limited food and water and toilets and showers beginning to fail. They need at least four days for it to dry out as it’s too muddy to leave. They are stuck. pic.twitter.com/BTeKOvu83o
— Erin Elizabeth Health Nut News 🙌 (@unhealthytruth) September 2, 2023
How many people attended the Burning Man in 2023?
This year, over 100,000 people are estimated to have attended the Nevada festival, marking it as one of the most heavily attended Burning Man events in history.
The event is consistently one of the most eagerly anticipated festivals each summer, held annually in Nevada's Black Rock Desert, and is a renowned event celebrated for its unique blend of art, community, and self-expression.
Mudpocalyptic!
— Unframed Soulset (@unframedai) September 2, 2023
Situation at Burning Man. Burning Man festival-goers trapped in desert as rain turns site to mud.#burningman #lasvegas #burningman2023 pic.twitter.com/hcB2pVJK03
Festivalgoers build a temporary city called Black Rock City, and they create massive art sculptures and installations. In the end, a giant wooden effigy called the "Man" is burnt, giving the festival its name.
Everyone is encouraged to share and live together in camps, with people coming from all over the world to be part of this unique event, which has a different theme each year.