Thousands of Burning Man festival attendees stranded in Nevada desert due to heavy rains (photos, video)
One person was killed
The US authorities have launched an investigation into the death of a man during heavy rain at the Burning Man festival in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada.
There are no details about the causes and circumstances of the death.
The Pershing County Sheriff’s Office reported that it is “currently investigating the death that occurred in the rain.”
Thousands of people who had come to the festival were stuck in the desert: the weather turned the ground into deep, slippery mud. The roads back and forth are closed, as cars can hardly pass them.
The heavy rain made it difficult for people to leave by car, and according to the sheriff, attempts to drive cars into the area have resulted in the soil now turning into a swamp.
The footage on social media shows its participants struggling to move through the mud. The organizers said that driving was prohibited until the sand dried (except for emergency services).
“A woman who parked next to me tried to drive away, but she managed to get 15 centimeters before her wheels buried in the mud,” USA Today reporter Trevor Hughes, who attended the festival, told the BBC.
According to him, the mud is so deep that it took him two hours to walk about three kilometers.
“It’s basically alkaline dust that becomes as hard as concrete when it dries, but when it rains a little bit, it turns into a slippery, muddy mass,” Hughes said. – “The water has nowhere to go – it can neither soak into the ground nor run out. So it just stays there.”
Forecasters predict that the rain will continue. Authorities said it could take several days before the ground dries out enough to allow for travel out of the desert.
In this regard, festival visitors were asked to save food and water.
“Participants are advised to conserve food, water and fuel and to take shelter in a safe place,” the statement said.
Festival visitors also said that portable toilets are no longer used because they cannot be emptied due to weather conditions. Those living in tents were offered to use the toilets of visitors who came in vans.
Before the rain came, more than 70,000 people had arrived at the festival, and the exact number of those still in the desert is unknown.
Some people managed to get out of the Burning Man venue despite the weather conditions. American DJ Diplo wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that he and comedian Chris Rock walked about 8 km to the road. After that, they met fans who agreed to give them a ride.
The event organizers also arranged for buses to pick up people from the road closest to the desert and take them to the city of Reno, more than 150 km away.
A BBC source at the festival said that most of the events have been canceled, as they are mostly taking place in places where it is currently impossible to get to.
Anatoliy, who did not wish to give his last name, has been attending the festival with his daughter for two years in a row. He said that they were prepared for dust storms in the hot desert, but instead they were greeted with torrential rain.
“Everything is fine, but there is some uncertainty,” Anatoliy said. According to him, “some people’s tents were flooded,” there are also problems with mobile communication, “we can’t contact anyone.”
Another festival-goer, Sherwin Nathan, told the BBC that despite the mud, “the party is still going on, things are going on as usual.” “There are worse conditions. Everyone helps each other, that’s the whole point of Burning Man,” he explained.
The annual Burning Man festival in the Black Rock Desert is one of the most famous cultural events in the United States.
The festival runs from August 27 to September 4. As always, it features giant interactive art installations and a huge wooden man that is burned at the end of the festival.
