Burning Man 2023 live: Organizers plan festival finale as thousands of attendees stranded at Nevada site
Burning Man has descended into chaos with one person dead and thousands stranded at the Nevada desert festival after severe flooding.
The person died during the event but local law enforcement are yet to identify the individual and reveal the suspected cause of death.
Tens of thousands of attendees remain stranded at the site in the Black Rock desert after severe flooding.
Organizers 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. Organizers have rationed sales of ice and portable toilets are unable to be serviced.
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.
Despite those challenges, organizers said that they plan to carry on with the festival’s finale — the burning of a 40-foot effigy.
The event is expected to take place at around 9.30pm PDT Monday, weather permitting.
Key points
What is Burning Man?
Where is Burning Man held?
Burning Man’s ‘2023 Wet Playa Survival Guide’
Fact check: No, there's not an ebola outbreak at Burning Man
Heavy rains turn Burning Man into mud pit
09:40 , Andrea Blanco
More than 73,000 stranded “Burners” were told to remain at their campsites as a slow-moving rainstorm fell on the typically dry desert over the weekend.
Organizers asked attendees to preserve food and water, and driving and biking was temporarily banned on the muddy roads.
“The Gate and airport in and out of Black Rock City remain closed. Ingress and egress are halted until further notice,” the festival’s traffic account tweeted on Saturday. “No driving is permitted except emergency vehicles. If you are in BRC, conserve food, water, and fuel, and shelter in a warm, safe space.”
Cell phone service in the area is extremely limited, USA Today reported. Heavy rains continued on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service in Reno, Nevada.
BLM, the federal government agency that oversees the area where Burning Man is held, said that entry will remain closed for the rest of the festival.
Thousands stranded at Burning Man Festival
09:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Fyre Fest 2.0? Chris Rock and Diplo escape Burning Man festival
09:00 , Andrea Blanco
Anyone planning on travelling to the festival, scheduled to run 27 August to 4 September, will now be “turned around” as it is shutting down.
Despite the restrictions on driving away from the site, comedian Chris Rock, 58, and music producer Diplo, 44, managed to trudge their way out of the mud for five miles before a fan picked them up in a drier part of the desert, and gave them a ride in their truck.
The Independent’s Ellie Harrison reports:
Fyre Fest 2.0? Chris Rock and Diplo escape Burning Man festival as 70,000 stranded
Has there been an Ebola outbreak at the festival?
08:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
The Burning Man festival has been shrouded in misinformation that the gathering is housing an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus, rather than dealing with flooding.
However, in a statement to indy100, the Bureau of Land Management’s (which oversees the Black Rock Desert site) public information officer for Burning Man said: “I can confirm the event entrance was closed for the year because unusual rainfall caused muddy conditions where there was a full stop on vehicles, and not for an Ebola outbreak.
“We have heard no information of any participants with Ebola.”
More here.
Fact check: No, there's not an Ebola outbreak at Burning Man
Thousands stranded in muddy Black Rock City
08:00 , Andrea Blanco
Video posted by attendees on TikTok showed people wearing trash bags up to their knees to walk in the mud.
“All the activities were shut down, we slept with no house music bumping, everything stopped,” TikTok user Angie Peacock said.
“They shut the water down, I’m walking around helping pull power cables out of the ground so they don’t get stuck in the mud.
Other attendees fully embraced the mud and even covered their bodies with it.
“This is the ultimate filter of beauty,” Dub Kitty told The Reno Gazette-Journal. “We’re trying to find my camp and magic along the way.”
Supreme Court lawyer Neal Katyal recalls experience at Burning Man
07:35 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
“It was an incredibly harrowing 6miles hike at midnight through heavy and slippery mud, but I got safely out of Burning Man,” Former US Acting Solicitor General 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.
It was an incredibly harrowing 6 mile hike at midnight through heavy and slippery mud, but I got safely out of Burning Man. Never been before and it was fantastic (with brilliant art and fabulous music)…except the ending. pic.twitter.com/jhxsOfNp5y
— Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) September 3, 2023
Spirits high at Burning Man festival despite rain chaos
07:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
The rain, the mud and the sea of dirt have failed to dampen the spirit of some of the revelers at the Burning Man festival, which was washed away due to weather conditions.
Videos posted to social media showed costumed revelers- including a few children - sliding through the sticky mess, most of them covered from head to toe in wet earth.
"When you get pushed to extremes, that's when the most fun happens," Brian Fraoli, a 45-year-old veteran "burner" told Reuters.
Mr Fraoli said he had tried to drag his luggage through the mud and escape, but gave up and decided to relax and enjoy the experience. "Overall it was an amazing week and next time we will be more prepared," he said.
The event is remote on the best of days and emphasizes "radical self-reliance" — meaning most people bring in their own food, water and other supplies.
Those who remained Sunday described a resilient community making the most of the mucky conditions.
"Everyone here seems in really good spirits," said Paul Reder, who has been going to the event for 22 years, adding that people were sharing food and water. "There's a general sense that this is going to end soon, the gates will open and we'll all be on our way home."
"We have not witnessed any negativity, any rough times," organiser Theresa Galeani told Associated Press.
"Some people were supposed to leave a few days ago, so they're out of water or food. But I am an organiser, so I went around and found more water and food.
"There is more than enough here for people. We just have to get it to everyone."
Vehicles sent for stranded Burning Man attendees on main roads
07:00 , Andrea Blanco
Thousands of revellers are having issues communicating with concerned family members on Sunday.
Cell service is limited and access to the area was restricted.
Organizers said on Sunday that mobile cell trailers and public Wi-Fi sites were being placed across the Black Rock desert, CNN reports.
In addition, buses were sent to nearby areas where desperate festivalgoers may have walked while trying to make it out of Burning Man.
Authorities investigating death at festival
06:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
The Pershing County sheriff’s office said they have opened an investigation into the death of a person at the Burning Man festival which “occurred during this rain event”.
At least one person has died at the festival amid rain and chaos that has left more than 70,000 people stranded in the Nevada desert.
Authorities said the person’s family has been notified without revealing further details.
Burning Man website features ‘2023 Wet Playa Survival Guide’
06:00 , Andrea Blanco
“Burning Man is a community of people who are prepared to support one another,” a description of the page read. “We have come here knowing this is a place where we bring everything we need to survive. It is because of this that we are all well-prepared for a weather event like this.”
“We have confidence in Communal Effort and Civic Responsibility and this is a good moment to drop in with those principles in mind.”
Read the entire guide here.
What we know about 2023 Burning Man festival’s flooding chaos
05:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
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.
Andrea Blanco reports.
What we know about 2023 Burning Man’s flooding chaos
ATCH: Heavy Rains Hit Burning Man, leaving thousands stranded in mud
05:00 , Andrea Blanco
Biden briefed on Burning Man chaos
04:40 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
US president Joe Biden has been briefed about more than 70,000 people being stranded at the Black Rock Desert, Nevada, following a downpour on Sunday that turned the place into a sea of sticky mud.
The White House said in a statement said administration officials are monitoring the situation and are in touch with state and local officials.
One dead at Burning Man festival as thousands stranded in desert after heavy floods
04:00 , Andrea Blanco
Authorities are investigating a death at the site of the Burning Man festival in Nevada where thousands of attendees remain stranded after flooding from storms swept through the desert.
Organisers closed vehicle access to the festival on Saturday and 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.
The Pershing County Sheriff’s Office said the death happened during the event but offered few details, including the person’s identity or the suspected cause of death.
The Independent’s Eleanor Noyce reports:
One dead at Burning Man festival as thousands stranded in desert
Police debunks wild misinformation about ‘Ebola outbreak’
03:00 , Andrea Blanco
A screenshot of a text message exchange triggered a flood of misinformation on social media regarding a supposed Ebola outbreak at Burning Man.
The conspiracies escalated when people on X, formerly Twitter, shared doctored headlines from Forbes and fake tweets from Burning Man organizers and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Experts and physicians emphasized how unlikely an Ebola outbreak would be.
People use plastic bags to cover their shoes as others are seen with their boots covered in mud at the site of the Burning Man festival
In a statement to Indy100, a BLM spokesperson debunked speculation about an Ebola outbreak.
“I can confirm the event entrance was closed for the year because unusual rainfall caused muddy conditions where there was a full stop on vehicles, and not for an ebola outbreak,” the spokesperson said.
‘Hunker down until weather improves,’ organizers ask
02:00 , Andrea Blanco
Attendees of Burning Man festival have been urged to shelter in place due to heavy downpours in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert.
More than 73,000 stranded “burners” have been told to remain at their campsites as a slow-moving rainstorm fell on the usually dry desert.
Organizers asked attendees to preserve food and water, and driving and biking was temporarily banned on the muddy roads.
The Pershing County Sheriff’s Office is now investigating a death at the festival.
“As this death is still under investigation, there is no further information available at this time,” the agency said in a statement.
The sheriff’s office urged burners to shelter in place, noting that some people had managed to drive off the playa but had caused damage to its surface.
Death investigation underway, portable toilets nightmare
01:00 , Andrea Blanco
The Pershing County Sheriff’s Office confirmed a death at Burning Man to KNSD-TV on Saturday but offered few details. The identity of the person and the cause and manner of death have not been released.
The Independent has reached out to the law enforcement agency.
Meanwhile, weather conditions prevented cleaning staff from emptying thousands of portable toilets, according to The Guardian. No driving is allowed except for emergency vehicles.
Chris Rock shared a picture on Instagram of the muddy roads and a line of portable restrooms that had reportedly not been emptied.
“Also, from what I understand, because of the flooding, the port-a-potties reportedly can’t be emptied,” Mr Rock wrote. “And because the gates are closed, people can’t get in to fill generators or deliver supplies.”
While many shared their frustrations on social media, others kept a festive attitude and continued dancing and drinking. Burner Mike Jed told the Associated Press that he and others had made a bucket toilet so they didn’t have to trudge as often through the mud to reach portable toilets.
“If it really turns into a disaster, well, no one is going to have sympathy for us,” Mr Jed told the AP. “I mean, it’s Burning Man.”
Organizers said they didn’t know when the roads would “be dry enough for RVs or vehicles to navigate safely”.
If weather conditions improve, vehicles could potentially depart by late Monday.
Stranded Burning Man attendee insists they’re ‘keeping the party going’
WATCH: Chris Rock and Diplo walked six miles before being hitching ride out of Burning Man
Monday 4 September 2023 00:00 , Andrea Blanco
Festivalgoers are walking out of Burning Man themselves
Sunday 3 September 2023 23:00 , Andrea Blanco
Many burners desperate to go back home after a chaotic weekend at Burning Man decided to make their way to the main road on foot, after officials restricted driving on the muddy and treacherous roads.
The Pershing County Sheriff’s Office said some people had managed to drive off the playa but advised against doing so due to damage caused to the playa’s surface.
“Some people are walking out,” Sgt. Nathan Carmichael told CNN. “Whatever resources are out there, they will use and share with each other.”
Mobile cell trailers have been sent to Black Rock desert
Sunday 3 September 2023 22:30 , Andrea Blanco
Thousands of revellers are having issues communicating with concerned family members on Sunday.
Cell service is limited and access to the area was restricted.
Organizers said on Sunday that mobile cell trailers and public Wi-Fi sites were being placed across the Black Rock desert, CNN reports.
In addition, buses were sent to nearby areas where desperate festivalgoers may have walked while trying to make it out of Burning Man.
Plans to burn the Man continue, organizers say
Sunday 3 September 2023 21:50 , Andrea Blanco
“The roads remain too wet and muddy to officially open them for Exodus,” a statement on Burning Man’s website read.
“There is also an uncertain weather front approaching Black Rock City. Please do NOT drive at this time. Road conditions differ based on the neighborhood. We will update you on the driving ban after this weather front has left the area.”
However, organizers said they still planned to burn the Man, weather permitting, at around 9.30pm Monday.
Burning Man is a test of ‘radical self-reliance'
Sunday 3 September 2023 21:30 , Andrea Blanco
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
Sunday 3 September 2023 21:09 , Andrea Blanco
“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 â¤ï¸”
Death investigation underway, thousands trapped: What we know about 2023 Burning Man festival’s flooding chaos
Sunday 3 September 2023 20:10 , Andrea Blanco
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
Sunday 3 September 2023 19:50 , Andrea Blanco
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
Sunday 3 September 2023 19:30 , Andrea Blanco
Trapped inside, gates are locked, 75K people are stuck and not allow to leave except in foot. But don't panic, because I have a 1 week supply of tuna! 🐟#BurningMan #BurningMan2023 pic.twitter.com/ozqaYi08u6
— 🌈 Tess T. Eccles-Brown, PhD (@TTEcclesBrown) September 3, 2023
Fyre Fest 2.0? Chris Rock and Diplo escape Burning Man festival as 70,000 stranded in desert
Sunday 3 September 2023 19:10 , Andrea Blanco
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:
Fyre Fest 2.0? Chris Rock and Diplo escape Burning Man festival as 70,000 stranded
Five deaths at Burning Man in the last 40 years: Reports
Sunday 3 September 2023 18:45 , Andrea Blanco
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.
His death was ruled a suicide, according to The Reno Gazette-Journal.
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
Sunday 3 September 2023 18:17 , Andrea Blanco
WATCH: The muddy scene at Burning Man
Sunday 3 September 2023 17:50 , Andrea Blanco
Former US Principal Deputy Solicitor General manages to leave Burning man
Sunday 3 September 2023 17:15 , Andrea Blanco
“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.
It was an incredibly harrowing 6 mile hike at midnight through heavy and slippery mud, but I got safely out of Burning Man. Never been before and it was fantastic (with brilliant art and fabulous music)…except the ending. pic.twitter.com/jhxsOfNp5y
— Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) September 3, 2023
WATCH: Chris Rock and Diplo saved from Burning Man by fan in pickup truck
Sunday 3 September 2023 16:50 , Andrea Blanco
Main entrace to Burning man closed for the year
Sunday 3 September 2023 16:28 , Andrea Blanco
In a statement to indy100, a spokesperson for the Bureau of Land Management, which oversees the Black Rock Desert site, said: “I can confirm the event entrance was closed for the year because unusual rainfall caused muddy conditions where there was a full stop on vehicles, and not for an ebola outbreak.”
Where is Burning Man held?
Sunday 3 September 2023 16:00 , Andrea Blanco
The popular counter-culture festival is held in northern Nevada’s Black Rock Desert.
There is only one road leading to the land where the festival is held.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the agency which oversees the area where Burning Man is held, said in a statement to The Reno Gazette-Journal that entry will remain closed for the rest of the festival. Burners waiting to get in were told to go home.
“Officials from BLM and the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office have closed ingress to the Burning Man event effective immediately and for the remainder of the event. Participants inbound for the event should turn around and head home,” the statement read.
“Rain over the last 24 hours has created a situation that required a full stop of vehicle movement on the playa. More rain is expected over the next few days and conditions are not expected to improve enough to allow vehicles to enter the playa.”
What is Burning Man?
Sunday 3 September 2023 15:47 , Andrea Blanco
According to its website, the festival is a “temporary metropolis dedicated to community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance.”
The six-day event in the Black Rock Desert was set to close with the torching of a 40-foot effigy the Saturday before Labor Day.
However, this year the popular was delayed due to flooding caused by Hurricane Hilary.
The event kicked off on 27 August and was set to end on Monday. En-route festival goers have now been told to return home as thousands remain stranded in the desert.
The counter-culture festival celebrates radical self-reliance and has been held since 1986.
The Bureau of Land Management capped the festival’s attendance in 2019 at 80,000 because of concerns about excess trash being left behind and safety issues, according to NPR.
The festival also contributed 100,000 tons of carbon dioxide that same year, The Guardian reported.
Wild misinformation runs amok on social media of Ebola outbreak at Burning Man
Sunday 3 September 2023 15:40 , Andrea Blanco
A screenshot of a text exchange triggered a snowball of misinformation regarding a supposed Ebola outbreak at Burning Man.
Tweets have seen users share doctored headlines from Forbes and fake tweets from Burning Man and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). There is no indication of an Ebola outbreak at Burning Man.
An anonymous Los Angeles physician told Insider that an Ebola outbreak is unlikely, and that the bad weather means attendees are more likely to be at risk of hypothermia. The report is similar to comments made by attendee Karole Holland-Hagino, who told the Los Angeles Times that there was no truth “at all” to the social media rumours about a virus and that everyone was “healthy and happy”.
Indy100’s Liam O’Dell debunks all the conspiracies about the situation at Burning Man:
What is Burning Man and does it really have an Ebola outbreak?
WATCH: Stranded Burning Man attendee insists they're 'keeping the party going'
Sunday 3 September 2023 15:30 , Andrea Blanco
Entrance to Burning Man in Nevada closed due to flooding. Festivalgoers urged to shelter in place
Sunday 3 September 2023 15:10 , Andrea Blanco
The entrance to the Burning Man counterculture festival in the Nevada desert was closed and attendees were urged to shelter in place Saturday as flooding from storms swept through the area.
The entrance will be closed for the remainder of the event, which began on 27 August and was scheduled to end on Monday, according to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which oversees the Black Rock Desert where the festival is being held.
About 6 inches of rain is believed to have fallen on Friday at the festival site, located about 110 miles north of Reno, the National Weather Service in Reno said. Another quarter of a foot of rain is expected late Saturday into Sunday.
Organizers urged festivalgoers to conserve their food, water and fuel.
Burning Man website features ‘2023 Wet Playa Survival Guide'
Sunday 3 September 2023 14:50 , Andrea Blanco
“Burning Man is a community of people who are prepared to support one another,” a description of the page read. “We have come here knowing this is a place where we bring everything we need to survive. It is because of this that we are all well-prepared for a weather event like this.”
“We have confidence in Communal Effort and Civic Responsibility and this is a good moment to drop in with those principles in mind.”
Read the entire guide here.
Authorities ask festival goers to shelter in place
Sunday 3 September 2023 14:30 , Andrea Blanco
Attendees of Burning Man festival have been urged to shelter in place due to heavy downpours in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert.
More than 73,000 stranded “burners” have been told to remain at their campsites as a slow-moving rainstorm fell on the usually dry desert. Up to 1 inch of rain fell in the area on Friday, Fox Forecast Center reported.
Organizers asked attendees to preserve food and water, and driving and biking was temporarily banned on the muddy roads.
The Pershing County Sheriff’s Office is now investigating a death at the festival.
“As this death is still under investigation, there is no further information available at this time,” the agency said in a statement.
The sheriff’s office urged burners to shelter in place, noting that some people had managed to drive off the playa but had caused damage to its surface.
One dead at Burning Man festival as thousands stranded in desert after heavy floods
Sunday 3 September 2023 14:10 , Matt Mathers
Authorities are investigating a death at the site of the Burning Man festival in Nevada where thousands of attendees remain stranded after flooding from storms swept through the desert.
Organisers closed vehicle access to the festival on Saturday and 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.
Eleanor Noyce reports:
One dead at Burning Man festival as thousands stranded in desert
Chris Rock and Diplo escape Burning Man festival as 70,000 stranded in desert
Sunday 3 September 2023 13:51 , Matt Mathers
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.
“Burners”, as the festival’s attendees are referred to, have been instructed to remain at their campsites as a slow-moving rainstorm fell on the desert.
Organisers asked festivalgoers to “conserve food, water and fuel” and “shelter in a warm, safe space”, with driving and biking temporarily banned on the boggy roads.
Ellie Harrison reports:
Fyre Fest 2.0? Chris Rock and Diplo escape Burning Man festival as 70,000 stranded
Watch: ‘We don’t need outside help’: Stranded Burning Man attendee insists they’re ‘keeping the party going’
Sunday 3 September 2023 13:34 , Louise Boyle
A Burning Man attendee stranded at the desert festival after severe flooding has revealed revellers are “keeping the party going”.
David Date, a metal artist, says “travel is impossible” but that those still there have become “radically self-reliant”.
“We all have a choice in how we’re going to handle things”, he told followers in a video posted on X, formerly Twitter.
“Everyone open up your Starlink satellites so that people can communicate with their families... don’t fight anybody because we’re all in this together.”
Stranded Burning Man attendee insists they’re ‘keeping the party going’
Pictured: Burning Man becomes a mud pit
Sunday 3 September 2023 13:29 , Louise Boyle
