Tens of thousands of Burning Man festival-goers were issued a protective order and told to conserve supplies after rainstorms turned the Nevada desert into a vast, impassable mud pit.
The US Bureau of Land Management called for preventing “burners” from entering or exiting the federally protected Black Rock Desert for the remainder of the week-long event, which began Aug. 27, according to The Associated Press reported. Anyone on their way to Burning Man is advised to turn back before being forced to do so.
organizer announced on social media that Black Rock Airport is closed and only emergency vehicles are allowed to drive on the Playa or festival grounds.
Campers are instructed to “store food, water and fuel and shelter in a warm, safe place”.
photos and videos Posted to the social media showed People navigate standing water and mud under darkness and gray skies. Some had made galoshes out of black garbage bags.
“The playa doesn’t really offer much this time,” said one post, referring to an often-used phrase from Burning Man.
Playa aims to create space for community engagement, giving and swapping, with an ethos of self-reliance and anti-consumerism. But what started out as a bohemian hangout in the 1980s has grown into a magnet for social media influencers and wealthy Silicon Valley dudes over the past decade.
A pop-up town in Black Rock attracts around 70,000 festival-goers who camp out in varying degrees of comfort in the desert around Labor Day weekend, ending up watching “The Man” pictured being burned. The festival is known for the art of its visitors, who often roam the grounds in wild and colorful costumes.
Burner, addressed by the Reno Gazette-JournalHe remained upbeat about the event. A competitor from Colombia, Angelov Franco, said it was his 13th time.
“This is going to be fun,” Franco told the Gazette-Journal. “Hopefully the sun will come out after the rain.”
Another man told the outlet his name was “Dirty D” and took a mud bath.
Organizers said forecasts had called for partly sunny skies for Saturday and the possibility of more rain for Sunday when the fire is planned.