Burning Man revelers walk around swamped Nevada desert BAREFOOT with just tins of tuna to eat – as 73,000 are stranded and one person dies
Burning Man revelers have been forced to walk barefoot through the swampy playa and survive on cans of tuna after a runoff saturated the dry ground.
Torrential rains flooded the Nevada desert, turning the dust into clay. This means 73,000 revelers are trapped until the landscape dries up. One person died during the ordeal, it was reported on Saturday.
Festivalgoers dealing with the treacherous conditions of Black Rock City have also dumped their shoes that keep getting stuck in the mud – while desperately trying to maintain their food and water supplies.
The portable toilets on the festival site are also not cleaned or emptied because service vehicles cannot reach them, creating ‘dirty’ conditions in the playa.
Campers’ tents and structures have been breached by the pouring rain, leaving many people tired, wet and muddy.
But it’s not all doom and gloom. The hedonistic audience takes full advantage of the situation by organizing slip-and-slides and enjoying the characteristic psychedelic atmosphere during the elaborate festivities.
Christine Lee, who visited the festival with her friends, said they walk around in the muddy, sinking sand because their shoes keep getting caught
Yeli Kovalenko, who is attending the festival, shared her expectations versus reality after the playa was flooded
It’s not all doom and gloom – with the hedonistic crowd making the most of the situation by staging slides and slides and partying during the elaborate festivities
Burning Man is set on prehistoric Lake Lahontan, a dry bottom popularly known as the playa. The soil consists of alkaline dust, which normally causes people to cough with ‘playa lung’.
But this year’s rain has created an elaborate game of mud-dwelling for scantily-clad music lovers.
One clip, posted by a festival-goer, showed a jeep half-buried in the sinking clay and mud, completely unable to move after getting stuck in the silt.
Christine Lee, who visited the festival with her friends, said that they walk barefoot in the sinking sand because their shoes keep getting stuck.
They filmed how they dragged barefoot through the terrible conditions on Sunday morning.
Lee also said, “We’re not allowed out of the playa, the gates are locked.” We’ve got enough tuna for a week, so we’ll be fine. All our structures have collapsed.’
Burning Man is set on prehistoric Lake Lahontan, a dry bottom popularly known as the playa.
The soil is alkaline dust, which normally causes people to cough with ‘playa lung’
Revelers have put their shoes in plastic bags to keep them from getting muddy
One person viewing her update wrote, “Not the bare feet! That mud will give you a playa foot!’ While another said, ‘Omg! No! Wear shoes!!! The mud is toxic!!’
Marshall Mosher, who is currently trapped in the sinking mud at Burning Man, said people are making the best of the situation and organizing mud fests.
He said, “Even our pretty nice mountain bike won’t even work in the wet playa conditions. I’ve never seen such conditions.’
Yeli Kovalenko, who is also attending the festival, shared her hilarious expectations versus reality after the playa was flooded.
Jenna Roxbury said only emergency vehicles should be allowed to drive in these conditions – and that Burning Man hospital is open and very busy.
She said, “They can’t empty the porta potties, so they’re nasty to say the least, but we’ve figured out alternate ways to go to the toilet.”
One clip posted by a festival-goer showed a jeep half-buried in the sinking clay and mud – completely unable to move after getting stuck in the silt
Layla Molayem – still wearing a sleeping mask on her head – said she braved the trek through the wet conditions to go to the bathroom
A Burning Man contestant makes his way through the mud in Black Rock City
A Burning Man visitor lies in the mud and water during the event
Layla Molayem, who still wears a sleep mask on her head, said she braved the draft through the wet conditions to go to the bathroom.
She said, ‘Just used the porta potty, the conditions in this post rain are not ideal. The alkaline dust has turned into clay. You sink a little with every step.’
On Saturday evening it was announced that one person had died at Burning Man.
The northern Nevada Pershing County Sheriff’s Office said the death occurred “during this downpour,” but gave few other details about what caused it, or the person’s identity.
“As this death is still under investigation, no further information is available at this time,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement Saturday night.
The hedonistic event’s final weekend came to a halt on Friday night as frigid, muddy conditions took over, but it even led to celebrities like Chris Rock attempting to escape the deluge.
“Don’t travel to Black Rock City!” Burning Man organizers tweeted, referring to the desert area where the alternative festival takes place
Marshall Mosher, who is currently trapped in the sinking mud at Burning Man, said people are making the best of the situation and organizing mud fests.
Chicago’s Shai Peza frolicking in the mud and water at Burning Man on Saturday
This satellite image courtesy of Maxar Technology shows an overview of the annual Burning Man Festival taking place in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert on August 29, 2023 – before the rain
Burning Man attendees try to leave the festival in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert
“Entrance to the city is closed for the rest of the event and you will be turned around,” the organizers said in a statement on social media.
“Rain from the past 24 hours has created a situation that required a complete halt of vehicular movement on the playa,” they explained.
Thousands of Burning Man visitors trudged through sloppy mud on Saturday — many barefoot or with plastic bags on their feet — as flooding storms swept across the Nevada desert.
About six inches of rain are believed to have fallen on Friday at the festival site, about 110 miles north of Reno, according to the National Weather Service in Reno.
An additional four inches of rain is expected from late Saturday through Sunday and conditions are not expected to improve enough for vehicles to enter the playa,” the U.S. Bureau of Land Management said.
A stay-at-home order was issued in the early hours of the night on Friday night, but some tried to brave the muddy paths
Muddy footprints quickly fill with rainwater after the downpours
One person was even seen with a boat parked on the property
Revelers suffer from hypothermia after unprecedented storms washed away the festival.
Organizers urged festival-goers already on site to “save food, water and fuel and take shelter in a warm, safe space.”
This year’s annual event will take place from August 27 to September 4.
Before the festival started last week, storm Hilary also battered the landscape, wetting the ground. But it dried up in time for the revelers to arrive.