Death at Burning Man investigated as rain-soaked festival asks attendees to shelter in place
Category: News & Politics
Via: perrie-halpern • last year • 5 commentsBy: Mirna Alsharif and Dennis Romero
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
A death at the Burning Man festival amid the rain and mud was under investigation, local authorities said Saturday, and attendees were urged to shelter in place as more rain was forecast.
The Pershing County Sheriff's Office in northern Nevada announced the death, which it said happened "during this rain event." The sheriff's office offered few details, including the person's identity or the apparent cause.
"As this death is still under investigation, there is no further information available at this time," the office said in a statement.
The office, which previously said people were free to leave the festival amid a lockdown for vehicles coming in, said Saturday night that it supports organizers' shelter-in-place recommendation for the more than 70,000 estimated to be at the desert event.
"Some vehicles have been able to drive off the Playa, however, those vehicles have caused damage to the Playa surface, and it is not recommended at this time," the office said.
People walk through the mud at Burning Man in Black Rock City, Nev., on Saturday.Trevor Hughes / USA TODAY NETWORK
"There is more rain forecast for the next few days which could cause further delays and disruptions for participants attempting to leave the Festival as well as other operations within the Festival," it added.
Extra resources were on-hand, the sheriff's office said.
Attendees of the weeklong countercultural music and arts festival were first advised to "shelter in place" and conserve food and water on Friday, according to notices from organizers. All inbound traffic was halted and would remain so until further notice, organizers as well as federal and county officials said on Saturday.
"Participants inbound for the event should turn around and head home," the Bureau of Land Management said in a statement Saturday.
The festival's front entrance was closed. And widespread rain was expected in northern Nevada on Sunday.
"Honestly even if they didn't limit it [traffic], it would be self-limited because of mud," said Sean M. Burke, emergency management director of Pershing County, Nevada.
Though organizers said the gate and airport in and out of Black Rock City remained closed Saturday night, authorities had said participants were free to walk away from the event, which is temporarily built each year on lava beds, alkali flats and flat bottom of defunct Lake Lahontan in the federally protected Black Rock Desert.
Some Burning Man attendees began trickling out of the festival on foot Saturday, authorities said.
Diplo, a DJ who has been performing at Burning Man, posted a video on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, of him riding in the back of a vehicle.
"just walked 5 miles in the mud out of burning man with chris rock and a fan picked us up," he said in the post.
A few festival-goers hike out of Burning Man's mud flats en route to an accessible road on Saturday in Black Rock City, Nev.Courtesy Sgt. Nathan J. Carmichael / Pershing County Sheriff's Office
Sgt. Nathan J. Carmichael of the Pershing County Sheriff's Office said early Saturday evening he spotted a dozen or so people hiking toward an accessible road, where Burning Man organizers were helping them get rides to Reno.
"I don't know if they're going to be able to come back or not," he said. "A lot of them are leaving their campers and saying they'll come back in a couple days."
Otherwise, the party known for bright costumes and homemade cyberpunk vehicles is on a virtual island, with an estimated 70,000-plus participantsisolated from civilization, Carmichael said.
That existence apart has been core to Burning Man's draw, rain or shine, for decades.
Burning Man is an event of self-expression that culminates in the torching of a 40-foot effigy. The practice originated with the burning of an 8-foot wooden "man" in 1986 on San Francisco's Baker Beach, which evolved into an annual event in Black Rock Desert.
Heavy rainfall was reported across Nevada on Friday, with the threat of flash floods looming over eastern, north central, northeast and south central Nevada over the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.
The flash flood watch will remain in effect for the region through Monday morning, with "widespread" rain
Overnight, Black Rock City received around 0.6 to 0.8 an inch of rain, according to a Saturday morning update from organizers. Rain was expected to return Sunday morning.
"If you are in BRC, conserve food, water and fuel, and shelter in a warm, safe space," organizers continued to warn Saturday.
Only emergency vehicles were allowed to drive in Black Rock City, according to organizers.
Tens of thousands gather in Black Rock Desert annually for the event, according to Burningman.org.
On Saturday, video and photos posted to social media depicted attendees gathering in mud, walking barefoot through mud, and living with mud that had lined some of their tents.
In 2019, the Bureau of Land Management set capacity at 80,000 for the weeklong event under a request from organizers for a 10-year special permit. The bureau considered plans for stepped growth year-to-year, but said 80,000 people were as many as local first responders could handle.
This year's 3,900-acre event began Aug. 27 and is scheduled to end Monday.
Carmichael of the sheriff's office said organizers, his county, the Bureau of Land Management, and other officials were prepared if rain on Sunday is heavy and more mud locks in partygoers.
"If that trigger is pulled, and I don't know what the trigger is, we'll get together and pool all our resources and see what we can accomplish," he said.
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description sounded like my experiences at Woodstock 94 MUD
then 99 was a true trip, as it was my first time trying X2c (extasy), and i was peaking right on top of the BURNING TRAILERS, and then , just like in the Wall, i watched as hundreds of Riot Police marched across a large field directly at us. Fortunately for me, my girl got me away from my buddies and the general ensuing havoc that left the place looking like a third world country the next morning.
but as usual, i digress.
With all that rain, are they sure that burning man gonna burn….? Sounds pretty cool, except i only enjoy ROCK MUSIC, and flamboyant costumes reminds of me those 80’s hair bands, so, no thanks
I've got a friend that's been going there for a couple decades, except during covid, to relive the best parts of the 60's and 70's...
Have never been but was scheduled to work as a paramedic one year.
A good paying ambulance gig came through and had to cancel (sigh).
Burning Man is still on my bucket list but glad I didn't make it this year.
I have a feeling that the location will change after this year, since TPTB are very concerned about the playa there.
That looks like fun.