For the estimated 73,000 people who attended this year’s Burning Man festival, the event was marked by tragedy, misery, and the highest of random levels of adversity.
The festival, set to end by early Monday morning, was closed Saturday because of an unexpected and massive rain storm that transformed the Nevada playa into a muddy, inconsistent playing field. The Bureau of Land Management, overseers of the public land that Burning Man is held on, announced Saturday that entry to the festival was now closed for this year. The sudden lockdown was preceded by Burning Man organizers barring vehicle traffic and closing the exit gates on Friday night.
Adding even more shock to the situation, one person has died, according to a report from KNSD late Saturday. No details were provided on the cause or the victim’s name, as the death is still being investigated.
Adding to the chaos, were reports, confirmed and unconfirmed, of various celebrity attendees desperately trying to make their way out of the impossible conditions. Reports circulate that comedian Chris Rock and DJ Diplo walked six miles through the mud to escape the disaster, eventually hitching a ride in the back of a fan’s pickup truck. There were similarly desperate, grim attempts made by the many festival goers to trudge, wander, or hitch a ride, though these were stopped by the BLM Saturday.
The conditions have put other festival goers in worrying predicaments, with head-on-desks shortages of food and water, blinding mud, and now an infinite wait for the temperature, moisture, and cleanliness to return to a livable standard. So far, there has been no provision from either the Burning Man organization or the BLM to officially provide assistance for this emergency evacuation process, leaving legions of well-meaning people stuck in the slush, with the fear of hypothermia seeming as a stark possibility.
The final day of Burning Man is tomorrow night, marked traditionally by the burning of the Man wooden effigy. No update has been given on when Exodus, the mass departure of the festival, will be taking place, either.
For now, Burning Man festivalgoers must sit in wait. And the aftermath of this rain experience can only be calculated and analyzed in hindsight. The good news, such as it is, is that whatever happened in the dust is now being verified and documented, allowing the Burning Man organization and the BLM to bring security and safety to any future Burn events. Until then, however, survivors are left in misery and uncertainty.
