Burning Man CEO assures no need to panic amidst chaos.
Thousands of Burning Man Attendees Advised to Delay Departure Due to Mud
Thousands of Burning Man attendees who are stuck at the festival in the Nevada desert due to mud are being advised to leave on Tuesday, according to organizers, as the CEO told people to stay calm.
“Consider delaying your departure from Black Rock City until Tuesday 9/5. This will alleviate large amounts of congestion throughout the day today, Monday 9/4,” said an update on the official website.
The social media account Burning Man Traffic, which posts updates about the event, wrote on X at about 11 a.m. eastern time that Gate Road “remains too wet [and] muddle for most vehicles to safely navigate,” but it is “drying.” The “exodus” is most likely going to start at around “midday” on Monday, it said.
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Organizers also asked attendees not to walk out of the Black Rock Desert, about 110 miles north of Reno, as others had done throughout the weekend, including celebrity DJ Diplo and comedian Chris Rock. They didn’t specify why.
“Obey all traffic laws and respect our neighbors and law enforcement as you travel through Gerlach, Empire, Nixon, and Wadsworth, and the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe reservation,” the update also stated.
It comes as reports say the area is beginning to dry due to more sunny conditions. Some 70,000 people are estimated to be stuck there due to the muddy conditions, while at least one death has been reported.
Marc Chenard, a forecaster with the National Weather Prediction Center, said the rain is now gone. “Yep, the rain cleared out of there,” he said. “It’ll be sunny today with temperatures in the 70s (Fahrenheit).”
Meanwhile, the CEO of the organization, Marian Goodell, said “there is no cause for panic” and urged people who are still stuck in the muddy Nevada desert to remain calm.
“We’ve made it really clear that we do not see this as an evacuation situation,” she told NBC News on Sunday. “The water is drying up.”
Flooding Begins
The chaos started on Sept. 1 when event attendees, known as “burners,” were told to shelter in place to conserve water, fuel, and food after flooding transformed the dried up alkaline lake bed into a muddy pit. Organizers closed the roads and gates on Saturday after they became impassable for many vehicles due to the muddy conditions and as vehicles got stuck.
The road closures came just before “the Man” was to be set on fire on Saturday night. The event traditionally culminates in the torching of the large wooden effigy shaped like a man and a wooden temple structure during the final two nights, but the fires were postponed to Monday night as authorities worked to reopen exit routes by the end of the Labor Day weekend.
The annual gathering, which launched on a San Francisco beach in 1986, attracts nearly 80,000 artists, musicians, and activists for a mix of wilderness camping and performances. Disruptions are part of the event’s recent history: Dust storms forced organizers to temporarily close entrances to the festival in 2018, and the event was twice canceled altogether during the pandemic.
At least one fatality has been reported, but organizers said the death of a man in his 40s wasn’t weather-related. The sheriff of nearby Pershing County said he was investigating but has not identified the man or a cause of death.
President Joe Biden told reporters in Delaware on Sunday that he was aware of the situation at Burning Man, including the death, and that the White House was in touch with local authorities.
Attendees Trying to Leave
The event began Aug. 27 and had been scheduled to end Monday with attendees packing up and cleaning up after themselves.
Local officials have said hotels can help some attendees, but the airport in Reno may not be able to deal with all the travelers.
“We are discouraging people from camping out at the airport. We really don’t have the space,” Reno-Tahoe International Airport spokesperson Stacey Sunday told The Washington Post on Labor Day. “Don’t come to the airport unless you have a boarding pass and you’re ready to board a flight.”
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