Burning Man tells festival-goers to postpone their arrival at the Nevada site due to Tropical Storm Hilary flooding
Festival-goers wishing to attend Burning Man were told on Monday to postpone their arrival, with organizers closing the gates until the waterlogged grounds dried out.
The annual festival will be held from August 27 to September 4 this year, but the Nevada desert has been engulfed by Tropical Storm Hilary.
Revelers often arrive early to set up camp, but have been told to postpone their plans.
On Monday, the organizers told those present that the entrance, via the town of Gerlach, was closed.
The gate will remain closed until at least noon PT on Tuesday, 8/22. If you were planning on traveling to BRC with a Work Access Pass, postpone your plans,” they tweeted.
“DO NOT drive to Gerlach.”
Burning Man organizers told people Monday to postpone their scheduled arrival at the venue
A man kayaks around the Burning Man site in Nevada on Monday
About 80,000 people are expected to visit the open-air anti-capitalist art fair
Parts of Nevada have been inundated after Hilary moved into the state early Monday after the storm hit California
Earlier, the event coordinators warned that anyone who tried to reach Gerlach would be turned around.
Some 80,000 people are expected to visit the open-air anti-capitalist art fair.
After last year’s festival frustrated many regular ‘Burners’, the organizers are aware that there is little room for error this year. The 2022 meeting was ruined by tech layoffs and inclement weather.
As Hilary moved northeast from Southern California early Monday — where it ravaged the San Diego, Palm Springs and Los Angeles areas — it crossed the border into Nevada, where a preemptive state of emergency was declared.
At the moment, this announcement mainly concerns workers setting up the grounds and installing various elements of the festival.
Due to the rain forecast from Sunday 20/8 to Monday 21/8, the gate will be closed at least until 12 noon on Monday 21/8. If you were planning to travel to BRC with a Work Access Pass, postpone your plans. It can take over 12 hours for the playa to dry, so be patient. More info to follow,” read a tweet from an account called Burning Man Traffic.
Videos coming out of Black Rock City Monday morning show flooding in the desert as rain pounded the area and penetrated many of the newly installed decaying structures.
The desert region has already had half an inch of rain from Hilary – while the entire area typically sees less than eight inches a year.
The event won’t start until Sunday and Hilary is expected to disappear from Monday afternoon to Tuesday, but it remains to be seen how long it will take for Black Rock City to dry.
Over the weekend in Nevada, Governor Joe Lombardo declared a state of emergency after sending 100 National Guardsmen to southern Nevada last week to prepare for the storm.
“My administration will continue to work diligently with state, federal, tribal and local partners in preparation for and response to this storm,” Lombardo said in a statement.
“Hurricane Hilary poses a serious threat to our communities, and again I implore all Nevada residents to prepare for flooding, remain vigilant, and follow all guidance from state and local emergency officials.”
Floods watch in the Southwest as Hilary continues to storm desert regions. Early Monday, the storm will move to Nevada, where a state of emergency has been declared
Burning Man organizers may or may not tolerate a stormy hit on their schedule this year, after tickets were sold at deep discounts following a festival last year that frustrated many loyal fans.
In a typical year, tickets to the free-spirited festival sell for $575, in addition to $150 parking tickets. This year, however, resellers were offering rates starting at $139, with parking passes also discounted.
SFGate reported that some loyal Burners were less optimistic about the festival this year for a number of reasons, including tech layoffs, an influx of influencers at the event and concerns about the weather – which appear to have been confirmed on Monday.
“Last year’s Burn was hot and hard, which is part of the trendline Earth is on,” Longtime Burner Linda Williamson told SFGate.
Paris Hilton was featured on Burning Man last year. Since many Burners like to take years off between attending, the pandemic break may have reset the cycle and caused 2023 to be an off-year
Williamson first attended Burning Man in 1997 but won’t be going back this year, citing a logistical nightmare last year that resulted in a 10-hour traffic jam trying to return to civilization after the event.
“You have to spend a whole day on the process to get to the curb,” Williamson said.
“I’d like to be able to go, but I’d also like to be able to leave.”
Last year, some Burners reported waiting as long as 12 hours to get away from camp, and photos from the event show monstrous traffic jams stretching across the desert.