Burning Man got stuck in the mud. The week-long annual event in the Nevada desert, popular with Silicon Valley’s elite, was battered by heavy rain this year, with organizers telling some 70,000 attendees to “save food, water and fuel and save time in warm, Take shelter in a safe place” “.
The event is held each summer in Black Rock City, a temporary metropolis built to host the event, about a two-hour drive from Reno. Its website describes Black Rock as “dedicated to community, the arts, self-expression and self-reliance.”
“Don’t go to Black Rock!” read a statement from the organizers release Saturday to X. “Access to the city will be closed for the remainder of the event and you will be brought back.”
“To anyone at the BRC, please help each other stay safe,” read the X post late Friday. “The gates to and from Black Rock City and the airport remain closed. Entry and exit are temporarily suspended.”
On social media, attendees dubbed this year’s event “Rain Man 2023” and “Trench Foot 2023.” A TikTok video showing camps and tents destroyed by heavy rain included the text: “Burning Man is flooded. End of dreams!” Another photo showed attendees queuing for breakfast in thick mud.
In another TikTok video, the Burning Man Info radio announcer can be heard saying: “Don’t drive your vehicle. Don’t ride your bike. Don’t push your bike. Stay where you are. Keep buildings and belongings safe at camp.” Do not operate generators or other electrically powered instruments that are in water. Cover or secure any electrical equipment. Check on your campers and neighbors to make sure they are okay and help them as needed, and use moments of calm to connect with campers and hunker down. Go outside Stay safe, Black Rock City.”
According to the National Weather Service, showers and thunderstorms are expected to persist Saturday night and Sunday, before clear skies hit Monday, the final day of events.
According to the event website, “Burning Man is not a festival! Almost everything that happens in this city is created entirely by citizens, who are active participants in the experience.”
This year, perhaps the most memorable is the dirt created entirely by nature.
