Burning Man has finally come to an anti-climatic end as revellers begin their mass exodus after the event was overshadowed by a severe storm that trapped 70,000 attendees in the northwest Nevada desert.
The flooding had left attendees ankle-deep in mud and 70,000 people were thought to have been stranded.
Bad weather at the US festival made the ground too slippery to even walk on, with roads surrounding the area closed as vehicles couldnât drive on them.
On Monday, the roads reopened and festival organisers began to allow traffic to start making the slow journey out of the area. That afternoon, organisers said that around 64,000 people still remained on-site.
However, even with permission to leave, festival-goers were advised to wait until Tuesday to begin their exodus to avoid congestion.
Amid the chaos over the weekend, authorities were also investigating a death at the festival and have now identified the man as 32-year-old Leon Reece, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
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A cause of death is yet to be determined but it was previously said to not be weather-related.
The festival build-up to the big âfinal burnâ was scheduled to take place on Monday evening but itâs not clear whether this was able to happen with festival-goers making their exit.
Flooding in the area was so severe that âthree-eyed dinosaur shrimpâ have apparently woken up in the Nevada desert.
The crustaceans are said to have been âstirredâ by all the flooding in the Nevada desert.
According to the Independent, the shrimp can lay dormant for years in drought conditions, but have now âresurfaced to join the mud party at Burning Manâ.
Meanwhile, Burning Man has confirmed on X â formerly known as Twitter â that people wonât be able to leave as early on Monday as they thought.
They wrote: âGate Road remains too wet & muddy for most vehicles to safely navigate out of BRC this morning, but is drying. Exodus likely to begin around noon today, Monday 9/4.â
Festival organisers also asked people to consider leaving on Tuesday.
An update on the festivalâs site read: âConsider 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.â
But nevertheless, guests started pouring out of the festival on Monday and Black Rock Cityâs airport was back up and running by 12pm local time.
As if the weather wasnât enough, there had been even more panic amid rumours the deadly Ebola virus was spreading through the site.
Some accounts on X- sparked whispers, while others even shared fake screenshots claiming to be from the Centre For Disease Control (CDC).
Thankfully, there is no evidence to suggest this is true, and the CDC hasnât issued any such warnings.
However, the battle against the elements is very real, and Muse frontman Matt Bellamy biked through miles through the Nevada desert to leave the event as heavy rain has left thousands stranded.
Celebrities had also descended on the art event, with the likes of Chris Rock and Diplo seen fleeing the chaos in fits of giggles as they waded their way out of the mud for two miles before a fan picked them up in a truck.
Grabbing his poncho and hitting the road, Muse rocker Matt cycled out of the festival and documented the journey on his Instagram page.
He shared pictures and videos across his wet and rainy trip, all smiles in a fetching red waterproof, fur coat, and thick eyewear to protect against the elements.
What is Burning Man Festival?
- A nine-day celebration of art and self-exploration, Burning Man describes itself as âcommunity and global cultural movement guided by 10 practical Principlesâ
- The event takes place in Black Rock City, a temporary community built in Nevada
- The organisers say: âWe donât book acts or provide entertainment. What happens here is up to you! There is no corporate sponsorship.â
- They added: âThere are no spectators! You are expected to participate, collaborate, be inclusive, creative, connective and clean up after yourself.â
- The 10 Principles include: Radical inclusion, Gifting, Decommodification, Radical self-reliance, Radical self-expression, Communal effort, Civil responsibility, Participation, Immediacy and Leaving no trace
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âBiked out of Burning man to Gerlach, 5 miles through boggy wet desert and 12 miles on mountain roads, epic journey!â he captioned the post.
Dublin singer Daytona Rose is among those still at the festival, and she admitted itâs too dangerous to try and leave at the moment.
She told RTE Radio 1: âEven going from camp to camp is difficult⊠lifting your foot up with that mud stuck to your shoe is very heavy⊠itâs pretty crazy, Iâve never experienced anything like it to be honest.â
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Taking to Instagram, she added: âSome electrical chords were close to catching fire on Friday night when it rained really heavy, that was fairly scary to say the least. Everyone has shown kindness though and weâre all banding together to share supplies to get through this! What a first burning man experience !! (sic)â
One possible escape route from the festival has remained viable, which involves a five-mile hike through the mud to the blacktop country road 34 â and itâs this option that model Kelly Gale, 28, and her 43-year-old fiance Joel Kinnaman and their pals opted for.
On Saturday afternoon local time, the Victoriaâs Secret model took to Instagram with a photo of her feet clad in walking boots, which she had taped plastic bags around in an attempt to avoid them getting bogged down with mud.
âFingers crossed,â she captioned the picture on her Instagram Stories as their trek began, and she kept fans updated with snapshots of their progress before showing Joel striding next to her in mud-covered boots as she observed they were âgetting to safetyâ.
The festival is famous for the giant wooden man that is burnt at the end of the event, and for its interactive art installations.
The Burning Man campsite has turned from a sandy desert into a total mud-bath due to a half-inch of rain, and organisers have urged people to âconserve food, water, and fuelâ and to âshelter in a warm, safe spaceâ.
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In the meantime, they added that no one is allowed to leave or enter the site, with the gate and airport in and out of Black Rock City still âclosedâ.
Anyone planning on travelling to the festival â which was due to run from August 27 until September 4 â will be âturned aroundâ as itâs now shut for the remainder of the event.
Adding on their X â formerly Twitter â account, organisers told people in the desert to âhelp each other stay safeâ amid the adverse conditions.
According to the BBC, a source at the event said that âeveryone is fineâ but there is a âsense of uncertaintyâ, adding: âSignal [across the camp] is the problem, we canât really communicate with anyone.â
The source also noted that portable toilets were out of use, and those in tents were being allowed into the family campervan facilities.
The floods have even awoken some bizarre organisms that can lie dormant in the desert for decades until the right conditions.
Triops â also known as dinosaur shrimp, with their âthree eyesâ â and fairy shrimp (sea monkeys) are among them, and theyâve started to stir.
This isnât the first time Burning Man has been faced with challenging weather conditions, after last yearâs event experienced a sudden sandstorm.
Someone whoâs got nothing but love for the festival, though, is Elon Musk, whoâs hailed it as âthe best art on Earthâ despite all the chaos.
He tweeted on Monday: âBurning Man is unique in the world. Hard to describe how incredible it is for those who have never been. Best art on Earth.â
Burning Man 2023 vs. Woodstock â99
The chaotic scenes at Burning Man have reminded people of Woodstock â99 after Netflixâs Trainwreck documentary last summer, which told the tale of the festival revival that descended into violence and mayhem.
Hot temperatures and high prices (with reports of water bottles charged at $4 and few free taps) added into the mix, and over that weekend, there were 44 arrests made, 1,200 admissions to onsite medical facilities, and three people died.
The official synopsis of Trainwreck: Woodstock â99 reads: âWoodstock â99 was supposed to be a millennium-defining celebration of peace, love and great music.
âInstead, the festival degenerated into an epic trainwreck of fires, riots and destruction.
âUtilising rare insider footage and eyewitness interviews with an impressive list of festival staffers, performers and attendees, this docuseries goes behind the scenes to reveal the egos, greed and music that fuelled three days of utter chaos.â
Thankfully, scenes at Burning Man appear much more serene despite the chaos.
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