Stuck at Burning Man

Burning Man, an annual festival that takes place in Black Rock City, Nevada, United States began last Sunday, August 26. On Friday, September 1, the festival was interrupted due to heavy rains and participants received instructions from the organization to take shelter from the rains while it was pouring in the area.

The festival site received more than one centimeter of water overnight on Saturday, the organization explained. Since the rains had stopped for most of the day on Saturday, it was expected that by evening and morning of Sunday, there would be some chances for thunderstorms. The situation in the festival area prompted the Washoe County Sheriff’s office to restrict access around Black Rock City, except for emergency services. As the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office explains on the social platform ‘X’, formerly known as Twitter, “Entry to the Burning Man festival remains closed for the remainder of the event”. At the same time, the airport at Black Rock City remains closed until further notice.

The Burning Man festival ended yesterday, Monday, September 4, but according to organizers, participants could be stuck in Black Rock City for several days, due to the mud created by the rains. Meanwhile, thousands of participants at the Burning Man festival were asked to conserve food, water, and fuel. Videos on social media show Burning Man participants walking through the flooded fields and muddy mud. Images on social media showed portable restrooms, campers and people stuck in the mud. Some people have chosen to tie trash bags around their shoes so that the mud does not get all over the shoes.

Black Rock City

Black Rock City is a temporary community that emerges every year amidst the vast desert, best known as “the playa” for Burning Man. This makeshift community hosts over 60,000 people each year and is about a 3-hour drive from the nearest airport, in Reno, Nevada.