Thousands stranded at Burning Man Festival after heavy rain
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Burning Man has descended into chaos with one person dead and thousands stranded at the Nevada desert festival after severe flooding.
The death occurred during the event but local law enforcement did not identify the individual or suspected cause of death. An investigation is ongoing.
Tens of thousands of attendees remain stranded at the site in Black Rock desert after severe flooding.
Organisers closed vehicle access on Saturday and told those still trying to enter the festival to turn around and go home.
Revellers were left to trudge through mud, many barefoot or wearing plastic bags on their feet, after being urged to shelter in place and conserve food, water and other supplies.
Organisers have rationed sales of ice and portable toilets are unable to be serviced, the Reno Gazette Journal reported.
The event began on 27 August and was scheduled to end on Monday, according to the US Bureau of Land Management, which oversees the area where the festival is being held.
Burning Man is a test of ‘radical self-reliance'
The festival is a “temporary metropolis dedicated to community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance”, according to its website.
The six-day event in the Black Rock Desert ends with the torching of a 40-foot effigy of “the man” before Labor Day.
This year the festival was delayed due to flooding caused by Hurricane Hilary. The event has been held since 1986, when co-founders Larry Harvey and Jerry James first burned an improvised wooden figure at Baker Beach during the Summer Solstice.
In 1988, Harvey named the statue “burning man” and began promoting the event to people outside of his circle by handing out flyers and creating t-shirts, according to the Burning Man website.
By 1997, more than 10,000 attended the event and the number only continued growing over the years.
Burning Man did not take place during 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, more than 70,000 showed up to the event.
This year, the festival kicked off on 27 August and is set to end on Monday.
A satellite image of the 2023 Burning Man festival
DJ Diplo hitched ride out of Burning Man
“I legit walked the side of the road for hours with my thumb out cuz i have a show in dc tonight and didnt want to let yall down,” the DJ wrote on Instagram. “Also shoutout to this guy for making the smart purchase of a truck not knowing it was for this exact moment ❤️”
Death investigation underway, thousands trapped: What we know about 2023 Burning Man festival’s flooding chaos
Burning Man is already a test of “radical self-sufficiency” for festival goers but the 2023 event brought more hurdles than most would have imagined.
The start of the counter-culture festival was delayed by a rare hurricane on the west coast.
Then climate activists blocked the only road leading to the site in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert before being rammed by a tribal park ranger in his patrol truck. (That incident that is now under investigation.)
From Thursday, heavy rains have poured down on the desert area causing heavy flooding. This weekend, organizers and local authorities closed the roads in for the remainder of the festival and told those en-route to turn around and go home.
More than 70,000 “Burners” at the site have been urged to hunker down and conserve supplies amid mud slicks and unserviced toilets.
On Sunday, police announced an investigation into an unspecified death at the festival but did not disclose the name of the deceased or whether foul play was suspected.
Here’s everything we know about the Burning Man 2023 fiasco:
Festivalgoers try to escape mud pit
Only emergency vehicles were authorised to leave the campsite as of Sunday, but people desperate to leave the Black Rock Desert were trying to catch rides to make it out of the festival.
“Everybody else from my camp is from California so they are just going to wait it out. But I need to get back,” Franchesca Cermeno told USA TODAY. “My cat. My daughter. My job. I need to be in Tennessee by tomorrow so I need to be at the airport today.”
Stranded burners share their frustration on social media
Fyre Fest 2.0? Chris Rock and Diplo escape Burning Man festival as 70,000 stranded in desert
Chris Rock and Diplo have shared their experience of escaping Burning Man festival this weekend, with some 73,000 attendees stranded in the desert following heavy downpours in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert.
The Independent’s Ellie Harrison reports:
Five deaths at Burning Man in the last 40 years: Reports
In 2017, Burning Man festival-goers witnessed a disturbing scene during the final day of the event when a man threw himself into the flames of the burning man. Aaron Joel Mitchell, 41, suffered fatal burns when he ran into the fire and died the following day.
Meanwhile, 29-year-old Alicia Louise Cipicchio died in 2014 at Burning Man when she was hit by a party bus.
The San Francisco Gate also reports that in 2003, Katherine Lampman died when she fell from an “art car” and was run over.
Before that, Michael Furey, a friend of Burning Man co-founder Larry Harvey, was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1996.
If you are experiencing feelings of distress and isolation, or are struggling to cope, The Samaritans offers support; you can speak to someone for free over the phone, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.
If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The Helpline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.
WATCH: Thousands stranded at Burning Man Festival after heavy rain
WATCH: The muddy scene at Burning Man
Mud covers the ground at the site of the Burning Man festival
Former US Principal Deputy Solicitor General manages to leave Burning man
“It was an incredibly harrowing 6 mile hike at midnight through heavy and slippery mud, but I got safely out of Burning Man,” Neal Katyal tweeted on Sunday.
Authorities have advised people stranded at the festival not to leave the desert due to damage to the surface of the playa caused by vehicles.
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2023-09-03 19:10:40Z
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