Tens of thousands of Burning Man festival-goers have been given a shelter-in-place order and advised to conserve supplies after rainstorms reduced the Nevada desert to an enormous, impassable mud pit.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management made the call to stop “Burners” from going in or out of the federally protected Black Rock Desert for the remainder of the weeklong event, which began Aug. 27, The Associated Press reported. Anyone en route to Burning Man is advised to turn around before they are forced to.
Organizers announced on social media that the Black Rock airport had been closed, and only emergency vehicles would be permitted to drive on the playa or festival grounds.
Campers are instructed to “conserve food, water, and fuel, and shelter in a warm, safe space.”
Photos and videos posted to social media showed people navigating standing water and mud under darkness and grey skies. Some had fashioned galoshes out of black trash bags.
“The playa isn’t really providing this time,” read one post, referencing an oft-used Burning Man phrase.
The playa is meant to foster space for community engagement, gifting and trading, with an ethos of self-reliance and anti-consumerism. But what began in the 1980s as a bohemian gathering has, in the last decade, become a magnet for social media influencers and wealthy Silicon Valley types.
A pop-up Black Rock City attracts some 70,000 festival-goers who camp in the desert around Labor Day weekend in various degrees of comfort, ultimately watching “The Man” burned in effigy. The festival is known for the art made by its attendees, who are often seen traipsing the grounds in wild and colorful costumes.
Burners, approached by the Reno Gazette-Journal, remained optimistic about the event. One attendee from Colombia, Angelov Franco, said it was his 13th time going.
“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 gave himself a mud bath.
Organizers said forecasts predicted partly sunny skies on Saturday and a potential for more rain on Sunday when the burn is planned.
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