Burning Man finally opens its gate as festival-goers prepare to face flooded campsite following Hurricane Hilary and plague of tarantulas in mating season
Burning Man’s Nevada desert location reopened to visitors on Wednesday after flooding from Tropical Storm Hilary and amid a tarantula infestation in the region.
On Tuesday, event representatives announced that the gates would finally open after guests were turned away due to the weather-related damage.
About 80,000 people are expected to descend into the Black Rock Desert to create the temporary Black Rock City (BRC) for the week-long festival.
This year’s annual event will take place from August 27 to September 4.
As if the flooding caused by the hurricane and the hurricane itself weren’t enough, the area is currently in the midst of tarantula season.
Burning Man’s grounds in the Nevada desert reopened to visitors on Wednesday after flooding from Tropical Storm Hilary and amid a tarantula infestation in the region
About 80,000 people are expected to descend into the Black Rock Desert to create the temporary Black Rock City (BRC) for the week-long festival.
On Tuesday, event representatives announced that the gates would finally open after guests were turned away due to the weather-related damage
In a tweet sent out on Tuesday evening, festival organizers shared that the grounds would finally reopen to the public on Wednesday after two days of closure.
“Weather permitting, we are preparing to open the gate tomorrow (Wednesday, 8/23),” Burning Man Traffic wrote in a tweet.
‘8/21, 8/22 and 8/32 Work Access Pass holders will be assigned access windows. More information will be emailed to WAP holders tomorrow at 9am PT,” the tweet read.
A TikTok posted by someone in the area early Wednesday morning showed the landscape largely recovering after the storm.
The texture of the soil seemed to almost completely return to its desert character after a period of low flooding and muddy areas.
In a shocking post-storm photo, an event-goer was seen in the desert navigating the landscape in a kayak.
Closing the gates hampered traffic flow into the temporary city, as event attendees often arrive at the site early to set up camp.
Attendees were told not to even attempt to enter the area because of the flooding.
“DO NOT drive to Gerlach, you will be turned around, there are no rooms available.”
A man kayaks around the Burning Man site in Nevada on Monday
Tens of thousands of people are expected to flock to the festival for the open-air anti-capitalist art fair in the coming days.
The hurricane and subsequent flooding were just the latest set of problems faced by the festival, which attracts people from all over the world.
The Black Rock Desert tarantula mating season has begun and will continue through October, scientists say.
TikTok users lamented the arrival of the animals on top of the weather damage in videos posted to the social media app over the weekend.
But even earlier, the festival faced angry patrons after the 2022 festivals were marred by technical layoffs and inclement weather.
That is why the usually difficult to obtain festival tickets have been placed online for a fraction of the normal price.
Passes normally cost $575, on top of the $150 parking pass.
As of mid-August, resellers were offering tickets starting at $139, while parking tickets were marked down to $105.
According to SFGateIt’s not uncommon for a deluge of tickets to appear on resale channels in the days leading up to Burning Man, but the deep discounts on offer this year seem unusual.
Last year, a dust storm hit Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, where Burning Man has been held since the early 1990s.
A huge line of cars can be seen after last year’s festival, as some Burners said they had to wait up to 12 hours to leave the event
According to the San Francisco standardBurners selling their tickets also cited financial concerns as a reason for pulling out this year.
Burning Man has longstanding ties to the Bay Area and the technology industry. The event was first held on a San Francisco beach in the 1980s when it originated as a small bonfire ceremony for the summer solstice.
Burner’s other complaints include an influx of social media influencers at the event, which some say goes against Burning Man’s “no spectators” mandate, which requires all attendees to participate and contribute in some way.
Some are also annoyed by the proliferation of loud, pulsating electronic music at Burning Man, turning the experiential art encounter into something more like a rave.
Yet Burners has lamented for decades that the festival has lost its soul and is no longer what it used to be.